Tuscan White Bean Soup

We are on to soup. Christmas is sneaking up on me this year and I’m of course freaking out. Jim showered the countryside and came home with dried Navy beans, not cannellini beans. I gave up and made the soup anyway. Then I ordered the cannellini beans from Amazon. I swear I would have been long gone from Nashville if it wasn’t for Amazon. This is again from Ina Garten’s Go to Dinners. This soup was under Make Ahead/Freeze Ahead, light dinners.

Ingredients

• 1# dried white cannellini beans
• EVOO
• 4 oz. pancetta, 1/4†diced
• 2 C chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 2 C chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 2 C diced carrots, scrubbed (3-5 carrots)
• 2 C diced celery (4-6 ribs)
• 2 T minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 2 t minced fresh rosemary
• 8-10 C good chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Grated Italian Parmesan cheese for serving
• Makes 3 Qts., serves 4

Instructions

1. Place the beans in a large bowel and add enough cold water to cover them by 2†. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans, rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Set aside.
2. In a medium pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/4 C oil over medium heat.
3. Add the pancetta and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until browned.
4. Add the leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary and cook over medium-low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the beans, chicken stock, bay leaves, 1T salt, and 1 t pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the beans are very tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot, to prevent it from burning. Discard the bay leaves, cover the pot , and allow the soup to sit off the heat for 15 minutes.
6. Reheat, if necessary. Ladle into large shallow soup bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.