BEAN AND BACON SOUP
Simple, filling and delicious. Nothing much more to say about that so lets get started, shall we?
What You’ll Need
1lb of Bacon, cut up into lets say 1 inch pieces
3 Cans of White Beans (Doesn’t matter what kind, just make sure they’re white)
1 whole White or Yellow Onion, diced
2 Large (or 3 Mediumish) Carrots, chopped in a circular shape
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Tbs of Tomato Paste
3~4 Cups of Chicken Stock
3 Spoonfuls of Jarred Garlic (Jarlic) or 3 fresh cloves of garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Dried Bay Leaves
Lots of Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese *Technically optional, but my god does it add a ton of flavor
Let’s Get Cookin’
Firstly, prep your veggies by chopping them all up first and setting them aside. The bacon is going to cook first, but you should get your veggies chopped and done before starting the bacon.
Chop up your bacon so it looks something like this. If the pieces are not uniform, don’t worry about it. Those bigger pieces are just a nice treat at the end when you get an abnormally large slice of bacon in your soup! Also, pro-tip when you rough chop something (aka not uniform) chefs call it “Rustic” style to cover up the fact that it was not done perfectly. :)
Start to fry up your bacon. You may need to do it in batches in order to not over crowd the pan (I did it in batches). Over crowding means food won’t get that sear your looking for and they kind of just steam. Food needs their personal space!
Ba-bam the bacon is looking good and crisp now. We don’t want the bacon burnt or super crispy (unless you’re into that kinda thing). I just want to see some good browning going, but for it to still have some chewiness or texture going on.
Once your bacon is fried up, you’re going to want to discard about 90% of the bacon grease in the pan. Be sure to keep some of it though, as that grease is gonna be used with the veggies! Also don’t bother cleaning the brown bits off the pan either, that’s some good flavor that’ll be added to veggies!
Start off by cooking the carrots/celery/onion first and giving them a good sprinkling of Salt & Pepper. Give it a good 5 or so minutes on medium high heat, we want the onions to start looking translucent and the carrots and celery to soften a bit before moving onto the next step. Once that’s done, lets move on to the next step:
Once you’ve sweated those initial veggies, go ahead and add your garlic and 2 Tbs of Tomato paste. Give every a good stirring, making sure that the tomato paste really blends into the veggies. It should look something like this once fully blended in. You don’t want to see chunks of paste just sitting around, make them become one with the veggie mix.
Ensure your Sioux Chef is diligently watching your every move, they need to learn from the master chef.
Once you got the veggies and bacon done, start by added the 3 to 4 cups of stock into a large pot or slow cooker.
Then go ahead and add your beans.
Then go ahead and add the veggies and bacon.
Then add 2 Dried Bay Leaves.
Then STIR THE POT SO IT ALL COMES TOGETHER.
If you are using a large pot:
Bring to a boil
After boiling, reduce heat to a simmer (or very low heat if you have no simmer option)
Cover with lid
Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes
If you are using a crock pot:
Set heat to medium
Cook for about 2 to 3 hours
When the soup is just about ready, its time to grate up some Parmesan cheese. I would say probably about a cup or more of Parmesan cheese, then give it a good stir to ensure the cheese is fully melted and has become one with the rest of the soup.
You can add dried Parsley to the top to which will add green to the bowl and look better. It doesn’t really taste like anything, but is green.
And there you have it, Bean and Bacon Soup! You can top it with more Parmesan or even more crispy bacon.
Quick Step by Step Edition
Chop up your veggies and set aside
Chop up bacon into 1 inch pieces
Cook bacon (In batches if needed)
Discard about 95% of bacon grease, keeping the 5% for the veggies
Cook up your Onion/Carrots/Celery/Onion for 5~6 minutes on Medium High Heat. Add Salt & Pepper to the veggies
Add Garlic and 2 Tbs of Tomato Paste, cook for another 2~3 minutes
Add 3~4 Cups of Chicken Stock to Pot or Slow Cooker
Add 3 Cans of White Beans (Juices Drained)
Add Veggies & Bacon
Add 2 Dried Bay Leaves
Stir until they’re all together and lookin’ good
If using a large pot, bring to a boil, then down to a simmer. If using a slow-cooker, set heat to medium and cook for 3 hours.
Cover and Cook for an additional 1 hour and 30 minutes if using a large pot.
Once the soup is basically ready, Add 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Stir in cheese so it’s one with the soup
And you’re done!