Cocktail hour - what’s on our minds?  

Beans

Becca reads from Rancho Gordo website

Gretchen shares background, horticulture, region, etc

Recipe Source

Marcella Hazan's White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parsley Recipe on Food52

Ingredients 

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

6 cups cooked cannellini or other white beans—either canned or cooked from 2 cups dried (recommended)

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1 cup homemade broth or water (or 1/3 cup canned beef stock diluted with 2/3 cup water)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Thick grilled or toasted slices of crusty bread (optional)

Special Equipment 

Blender

Steps 

• Put the oil and chopped garlic in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the garlic, stirring it, until it becomes colored a very pale gold.

• Add the drained cooked or canned beans, a pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 5 to 6 minutes.

• Take about 1/2 cup of beans from the pot and puree them through a food mill back into the pot, together with all the broth. Alternately, use a blender, loosening with a bit of the broth. Simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes, taste, and correct for salt and pepper. Swirl in the chopped parsley, and turn off the heat.

• Ladle over the grilled bread slices into individual soup bowls.