Marcella Hazan–style White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parsley

Total time: 26 min • Active: 26 min • Inactive: 0 min

Ingredients

• 3 ea garlic
• 2 tbsp Italian parsley
• 3 ea great northern beans
• 0.5 cup olive oil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 0.25 tsp black pepper

Steps

1. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for about 5 minutes so the beans absorb the garlic flavor.5 min
2. Add 1 cup chicken broth, then pulse with an immersion blender three quick times while the blade is fully immersed to partially purée the beans. Use a blender or a food mill if you prefer—Marcella suggests processing roughly 1/2 cup of beans with the broth if using a food mill.≈ 2 min
3. Drain and rinse the canned white beans: open and pour three 16‑ounce cans of white beans into a colander, rinse under cold water, and let drain.≈ 4 min
4. Simmer the soup for 5 more minutes to meld flavors and heat through.5 min
5. Chop parsley: roughly chop fresh parsley for garnish.≈ 3 min
6. Season to taste and garnish: taste the soup, add a few cracks of black pepper, then top with the chopped parsley. (If using homemade beans, add a pinch of salt to taste.)≈ 2 min
7. Grate garlic: grate 3 large garlic cloves (about 1 tablespoon) on a Microplane or finely mince.≈ 2 min
8. Warm oil and cook garlic: in a medium pot over medium heat add 1/2 cup olive oil and the grated garlic, cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and just tan (about 1 minute) to infuse the oil.≈ 2 min
9. Add the drained, rinsed beans to the pot and stir to coat them in the garlic‑infused oil.≈ 1 min

Yields

• 6 cup finished white bean soup