Italian White Bean Soup

This recipe is adapted from Jack Meyer's Italian Vegetarian Cookbook and the foundation of "soup knowledge" I'm building from cooking my way through Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

I wanted to do something with white beans, which I always think of as being rather "fancy."

2 tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic pressed
4 red potatoes, scrubbed, chopped
1.5 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried sage
small bunch of fresh parsley chopped
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and carrots until onion is translucent (about 10 minutes) in butter.

Add garlic, potatoes, and dried spices, stirring frequently (about 4 minutes).

Add 2 to 3 cups of water, scrape bottom so that the brown layer at the pot's bottom seasons water. Make sure that potatoes are covered, bring to a boil, the turn down heat and let simmer until potatoes are soft and break apart. Add another 2 to 4 cups of water, parsley, white beans, salt and pepper. Adjust temperature so that soup begins simmering again and flavors combine.

If you'd like, run two cups of soup through blender and add back to the pot.

I had this with homemade bread and it was a pretty delightful winter dinner.

The soup reheated a few days later was almost even more satisfying.