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Creamy White Bean Soup with Fresh Tomatoes & Basil

No ordinary bean and tomato soup, a base of cannellini beans simmered in a garlicky fennel seed broth is pureed then topped with a flavoursome sizzling mix including diced ripe tomato plus basil. Inspired by a traditional Sicilian soup but combining heartiness with freshness.

It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting.

Course Soup, Main Course, Lunch
Cuisine Italian, Vegetarian, Vegan, plant-based, Sicilian
Keyword easy, healthy
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4
Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the soup base

  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 large onion (roughly chopped)
  • 2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped or sliced)
  • salt and black pepper
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 450 - 500 g cooked cannellini beans (approximately 2 standard tins after draining)
  • 750 - 1000 ml/g light stock (vegetable or chicken)

For the topping

  • 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ - 1 medium - small red onion (chopped fine to medium)
  • 3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
  • 350 g ripe but firm tomatoes (deseeded and diced: weight is before preparation)
  • 2 handfuls basil leaves (roughly torn if large)
  • ½ - 1 tsp hot or mild chilli/red pepper flakes

Instructions

Make the soup base

  1. Put the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

    Stir in the onion, celery, and garlic plus a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.

    Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to soften and colour (approx. 10 minutes).

    Add the fennel seeds, oregano and bay leaf and stir around for a few minutes or until the aroma rises from the fennel seeds.

    Stir in the cannellini beans so they're coated in the flavourings.

    Add 750 ml of the stock plus another grind of pepper.

    Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Put on a lid and simmer until the vegetables are completely soft (approximately 10 - 15 min).

    Remove the bay leaf.

    Use a stick or immersion blender to puree the soup. If it's thicker than you'd like, blend in more of the stock.

    Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.

    Set aside while you make the topping.

    Tip: soup can be made in advance and reheated just before adding the topping.

Make the topping (immediately before serving)

  1. Put the olive oil in a frying pan that will fit all the topping ingredients in a single layer. Heat to medium-high.

    Add the red onion and quickly cook until tender and starting to brown (turn down the heat if it darkens too fast).

    Stir in the garlic and cook until just golden.

    Add the tomato, basil and chilli and briefly cook just until the tomato is hot but not falling apart.

Serving the soup

  1. Divide the soup between bowls then share the topping among them.

    Serve immediately and let each person swirl the topping through their soup.

  2. Alternative: stir all the topping into the pan of soup then serve. However, it looks nicer if piled on top of individual bowls.

    Soup base, without the topping, can be made in advance and chilled for 2 days or frozen. As the topping is best eaten fresh, only make as much topping as needed depending on the number of servings.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Sophie Grigson.