Tuscan White Bean Soup

Thank goodness I had electricity when I came home so I could make this delicious creamy soup. It has been very stormy and dreary down here so a creamy soup is just what the doctor ordered. I love beans. All types, shapes and sizes! I found this tuscan white bean soup on foodnetwork.com by Giada De Laurentis. I like the flavor of most of her recipes except I don't use cream in my cooking. So, with this recipe I substituted a medium sized potato for the heavy cream to get the same consistency. I also found that it needed a bit of brightening so I added lemon juice at the end.

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

1 sage leaf

2 (15 oz) cans cannelloni beans, or great northern beans

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

4 cloves garlic, cut in half

1 medium potato

1/2 teaspoon peppa

1 Place a medium pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened.

2 Add the sage leaf and beans and stir to combine.

3 Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic cloves and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes.

4 Add a cooked potato (I microwaved one)

4 Puree the soup with either a hand blender or a regular blender. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add peppa.

5 Keep warm, covered, over very low heat until ready to serve.