White Bean Soup with Herb Swirl

My favorite thing to eat when it's cold and rainy outside is SOUP. I love homemade soup! If someone cooked me soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I could probably live off of it.




(above photo courtesy of Epicurious.com)

This recipe is amazing not only because of the wonderful flavors that combine to make it (fresh carrots, celery, onion, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and tomato puree) but also because it's high in fiber and full of veggies. I modified it from its original version, which is Chicken and White Bean Soup with Herb Swirl by replacing the chicken with an extra can of beans to make it vegetarian.

Another thing that was innovative to me was the unique blend of fresh herbs that are cooked separately and added to the soup only right before you serve it. You might know already that a natural air freshener for your home is to put a tidbit of water in a pan and boil fresh rosemary leaves in it. Well, imagine roasting rosemary plus sage and thyme in a pan even just for a minute... yeah, my house smelled amazing!

Now, you must know that picking through the herbs and breaking them gets boring really fast when all you want is to eat the soup already. So you might want to bring along a friend for this work :) and for sharing the soup later, too!

Also, make sure you buy a bread you absolutely love to go along with this soup, even if it's expensive. This soup makes you feel so spoiled that you'll want to indulge all the way ;)



You'll Need:
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/2 cup tomato puree
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 bay leaf

Preparation:
(courtesy of Epicurious.com)
Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil and next 4 ingredients in small skillet over medium heat until herbs are aromatic, about 11/2 minutes. Pour herb oil into bowl; cool.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium heat. Sauté chicken 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil to pot. Add onion, carrots, and celery; sauté until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Mix in last 5 ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken; simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Gently swirl 1 teaspoon herb oil into center of each.