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Pre-Winter 2021, I pulled out my soup cookbooks to make something different. I usually start front to back, this time went straight to Table of Contents to look for Bean Soups.
Why?
I have been thinking about my dad lately and I remember he always used to make Bean Soup/Stews over the Winter months. Over the years for his birthday and Christmas gifts I always got him one of those bean mixes with the dried herbs and spices. He would always find and I as well, these mixes not just in the stores but also at gift shops throughout the states that we would visit. Not sure if they are still sold in these places.
When he and I would cook he would talk about living through the the Depression and the ingredients used, such as dried beans, potatoes, pasta (meal stretchers) and belly fillers for pennies. Our conversations still resonate each day within me.
Early January of this year I started to do a purge of canned goods in my cabinets. I took 2 recipes from 2 different cookbooks and added some fresh ingredients and put together this soup.
Bacon & Bean Soup, made in the crock pot or stove top. Dad wasn’t much of a crock pot cook. However, I love it! Place everything in, turn on low and things cook while one sleeps or works. I know he would have loved this soup!
Bacon & Bean Soup
80ozs Great Northern Beans, rinsed, drained
6 cups chicken stock
3 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 Cloves garlic, minced
3/4# bacon, cut into pieces
2 bay leaves
3 T. Tomato paste
Garnish:
3 green onions, just green parts, chopped
Salt/Pepper, to taste
Crusty bread, for dipping
Drain beans and place in a slow cooker. In a skillet or medium stock pot, add bacon and cook until crispy, remove and set aside. Add the chicken stock, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, cooked bacon, bay leaf, tomato paste, to the slow cooker, give it a stir and cook 3 – 4 hours on high or 5 – 6 hours on low. Remove Bay leaves and with an immersion blender give the soup a few pulses just to make it more creamy. Or remove 2 cups and pulse in blender/nutri-bullet/etc. Add blended soup back to slow cooker and stir to incorporate. Ladle into bowls, top with bacon crumbles and green onions, serve with Crusty bread for dipping.
Bon Appetite
Chefs Notes:
Next time I make this I will add fresh thyme as it cooks. And garnish with a few leaves prior to eating.
Add more stock if you want a thinner soup.
