Rosemary White Bean Soup

I got my first Ina Garten Cookbook a year ago (the Barefoot Contessa for Food Network fans out there). I have two of her cookbooks now, and I love them. I find that she uses flavors well, really only using the ingredients needed to maximize the taste of the dish without clouding that flavor with extras. This soup is a perfect example. There are essentially three main ingredients: beans, onions, and rosemary; plus some staples: chicken or vegetable stock, garlic, bay leaf... but that's it! It's so simple. The soup tastes like just that, a simple white bean soup, but then with a punch of rosemary. It's amazing how just that one simple herb adds magnitudes of flavor! It's a nice soup for the winter: hearty, but light at the same time.

RECIPE: Rosemary White Bean Soup
from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, by Ina Garten
serves about 6

1 pound dried white cannellini beans
4 cups sliced yellow onions (about 3 medium onions)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large branch fresh rosemary (6-7 inches)
2 quarts chicken/vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1 inch and leave them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

In a large pot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until the beans are very soft, about 60-90 minutes (depending on your beans, this can take a while). Add a little extra water if you feel the soup is reducing more that you'd like. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender, blender, or food processor with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot (if necessary) to reheat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.