Italian White Bean Soup

Well there's still no snow falling in the mountains but it sure is cold here in the City.  Well, it was cold when I cooked the soup at least, not necessarily when this was posted...  We've really been enjoying our Williams Sonoma Weeknight Cookbook and found this super simple recipe for a delicious and nutritious Italian White Bean Soup.

You will need:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 oz diced pancetta

1 yellow onion

2 carrots

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (I also added 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme)

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

4 cups of chicken stock 

2 (14.5 ounce) cans of cannellini beans

2 cups of baby spinach

salt and pepper

Italian parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish

Start by giving the veggies a nice chop. 

Dice up the pancetta as well.  You can find pancetta at the Whole Foods deli counter.  I just ask the guys to give me a chunk instead of slicing it, that way I can dice the meat up how I want.

Pancetta is not as fatty as regular American style bacon, so add some olive oil to the dutch oven or soup pot to help the meat along.

Brown the meat for a few minutes and then add the carrots and onion.  Sautee for abut 5 minutes until soft and fragrant, then add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes but make sure not to burn the garlic or it will get bitter.

While the veggies cook, you can measure out the stock and tomato paste.  Also drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the pot.

Stir in the tomato paste.

Then add the stock and the beans.  Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat once boiling and simmer for about 5 minutes.  

Give the spinach a good rinse and add it to the pot.  Continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

That's it, super simple right?