Creamy White Bean Soup with Sage Gremolata

• servings: 6 servings
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

2 cups low-sodium vegetables broth, plus more as needed

3 (14-ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini, including liquid (see recipe note)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

35 fresh sage leaves (from about 5 sprigs)

1/2 cup loosely packed finely chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

Finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Cook the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using, and sauté until the onion is translucent, very soft, and pale golden, about 7-9 minutes. Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Simmer the soup: Add the broth and all of the beans, season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld and the broth to reduce slightly. Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Meanwhile, make the gremolata: Line a plate with paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until a sample sage leaf sizzles immediately after its place in the oil, about 2 minutes. Add half of the sage leaves and cook, stirring once or twice, until crisp and the edges curl and turn golden-brown, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried leaves to the paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining leaves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and reserve the sage-frying oil. Let the fried sage leave cool for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Place the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Crumble the fried sage leaves into the bowl. Season with 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt and use a fork to combine. Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Blend and season the soup: Once the soup has simmered, remove from the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot until smooth, adding additional broth as needed to achieve the consistency you like. (Alternatively, blend it in batches in a regular blender.) Taste and season with additional kosher salt and pepper as needed. Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric SebrekSimply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Serve: Divide the soup into bowls. Garnish with gremolata and a generous drizzle of the reserved sage-frying oil.

Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store any leftover gremolata and sage-frying oil in separate containers in the fridge, too, and let them come to room temperature on the counter while you rewarm the soup. You can also freeze this white bean soup, without the gremolata, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and make the gremolata before you reheat the soup or as it’s gently simmering on the stove. Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below! Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek