White Bean and Tomato Soup with Pesto

Remember when you were a kid and mom or dad would make you a grilled cheese with Campbell’s tomato soup? I don’t. You know why? Because I was a little food snob right out of the womb, according to my sources. I’ve had expensive taste for as long as I can remember and further back apparently. I didn’t want bologna or PB&J and definitely not grilled cheese. However, a few years ago I realized that grilled cheese doesn’t HAVE to be made with American cheese. (The root of all food evil). I haven’t cared for Campbell’s tomato soup (or any soup that comes from a can) either. But I must say that I was intrigued when I came across a recipe in my SELF magazine for White Bean and Tomato Soup with Pesto. Since this is one of my last days as a full time vegetarian, I decided to give it a whirl and pair it with a nontraditional grilled cheese.

Recipe comes from SELF magazine. I have made very minor changes.

INGREDIENTS

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    1 large yellow onion, chopped

    4 celery stalks, chopped

    2 medium carrots, finely chopped

    3 cloves garlic, minced

    1/2 cup dry white wine

    1 qt low-sodium vegetable stock

    (2) 14-15oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

    1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

    2 bay leaves

    *2 teaspoons dried basil (I made an addition)

The original recipe includes making your own pesto but I was pressed on time so I used some prepared pesto that I bought at the grocery store not too long ago. I also made the addition of dried basil to complement the tomato flavor.

Start by chopping your ingredients first for the ease factor of just tossing them into your pot as you go. You can do a rough chop on the onion and the celery but I recommend finely dicing your carrots. Recipe instructions never seem to account for how long it really takes for your carrots to get soft. By dicing them into small (less than a ¼ inch) pieces, they won’t take quite as long as a roughly chopped carrot.

You can mince or just quarter your garlic because this all goes into a blender afterwards so it won’t matter in the long run.

Heat a large pot or dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat then toss your onions in for about 3 minutes with a touch of salt and pepper. Then add your carrots, celery, and garlic. (Onion, carrots, and celery in a soup is like the holy trinity of soup making). Stir and allow to sauté for about 5 minutes then add ½ a cup of dry white wine. (I used an Italian Soave and it smelled AH-MAZING).

Let the wine and its companions party together for about 2 minutes. They need to get to know each other. Then add your veggie stock, beans, tomatoes, bay leaves and dried basil. Bring to a boil and allow it to reduce. (And I mean REALLY reduce.) It took about a half hour despite the original instructions.

After it has reduced down so that it looks less like a soup and more like a stew, test your carrots. If they’re soft, turn off the heat. If they’re not, cover and simmer on low heat until they are.

You’ll be needing a blender now! Transfer half the soup into the blender and puree. Pour into a bowl or serving dish then puree the other half.

Pour into a single serving bowl and add a dollop of pesto. Give it a stir! You can eat this alone, like I initially did with my friend Tracy OR you can hold off and make a fast nontraditional grilled cheese to go with it.

Sundried Tomato and Basil with Mozzarella and Provolone Grilled Cheese

            Bread (preferably a good bread for toasting, like Italian bread)

            Butter

            Basil (chopped)

            Provolone

            Mozzarella

            Sundried Tomatoes (chopped)

*I used multigrain bread which isn’t so great for that crispy factor but it was still very good.

Butter your bread slices on one side (the sides that will be touching the griddle or pan).

On the sides that will cuddle with the cheese and extras, lay down a slice of provolone and a slice of mozzarella. Then sprinkle your tomatoes and basil. Cover with the other slice.

On a hot griddle or pan, press your grilled cheese to make sure you get the toasting going! Flip when the first side looks thoroughly browned and repeat with the other side.

Make sure you slice on a diagonal when it’s done. Sandwiches always taste better when they’re cut on a diagonal! (Pure nonsense but I think it looks better).

*I really enjoyed the soup it’s very tasty but I think it needs more tomato flavor. Next time, I’m going to add a bit of tomato paste to punch the tomato flavor up a bit. Tracy and I really enjoyed it though especially with the addition of grilled cheese and delicious pesto!