Quick and smooth butter bean soup

Quick, smooth, butter bean soup - ready in 25 minutes!

To make a great soup, you need to start with great home-made stock. You also need time, because the ingredients need to get comfortable with each other in the pot, creating a marriage of deep flavours and textures. But for this soup, all you need is 4 cans of butter beans, some store-bought chicken stock, 2 onions, and a sprig of thyme. It takes 25 minutes to cook from scratch and is truly delicious!

I grew up with old-fashioned bean soup, made with lots of extra vegetables and meat on the bone. My Mom cooked it for hours to get that wonderful thick texture. I used to cringe at the texture of the beans though, and forced my Mother to push my portion through a sieve to eliminate any whole bean chunks. But the flavour was excellent, and today I would eat it without changing a thing.

So the thing is: if you don’t have a couple of hours to slowly cook your beans, opt for this great quick alternative. There is no compromise on the flavour and your friends will surely come back for more!

Ingredients: (serves 6)

  • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme)
  • 4 cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1,2 litres chicken stock (warm)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. In a medium saucepan, fry the onions and thyme in the butter/oil over medium heat untill slightly brown and soft.
  2. Add the beans and fry for another minute.
  3. Add the chicken stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat. With a stick blender, puree the soup untill smooth.
  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread.
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