Bacon & White Bean Soup

This dish is so easy to make! I love its rusticity. I came up with it one evening when I did not really know what to cook, nor did I want to spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen. Now I always make sure that I have a couple of cans of white beans in reserve.

The ingredients are so versatile. You can completely leave out the garlic/herbs infused oil and even the bacon. Or you can substitute bacon for sausage or pancetta.

 I like to puree parts of my beans but if you prefer a chunky soup, then just leave the beans as is.

This recipe yields 4 servings (1 cup per serving)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

4 slices of thick bacon

1/2 tsp lime juice (too much can make the soup too tart)

2 cans of good quality Cannellini beans

1 sprig of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt pepper

Cut the bacon into approximately 1 inch squares and cook. Drain on a paper towel.

Put the oil, the garlic, the thyme and the rosemary in a small saucepan and let it warm up for one minute maximum. Just time for the olive oil to infuse with the flavors of the garlic and the herbs. Your nose is your best friend here. Make sure you don't burn the garlic.

Strain 1 can of beans and puree in a blender. Make sure you save some liquid for the process though. (A potato masher works just fine too).

Pour the other can in a saucepan, liquid included. Add the pureed beans, the infused olive oil, the red pepper flakes and heat on low until it comes to a simmer.  Add the lemon and the bacon. Salt and pepper to taste but go easy on the salt, since you're using bacon!  Let stand, covered and off the heat for about 10 or 15 minutes before serving. I love it reheated the day after.

Drizzle with olive oil in the bowl.

 You can add some chopped parsley in at the end for extra freshness. Serve it with country-style bread like pain de campagne for example.