Tomato Soup with White Beans and Bacon

Name: Tomato, White Bean, Bacon Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1/4 pound bacon, diced; 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups); 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 cups peeled (about 3/4 lb), chopped potatoes (recommend Yukon Gold); 6 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned whole tomatoes with juice)*; 2 cups chicken stock or broth; 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar; 1 15-ounce can white beans, drained; Salt and pepper to taste; * To peel fresh tomatoes, cut a shallow cross on one end, blanch in boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove from boiling water and the peels should easily come off.

In spite of the unusually poor tomato season this summer (mild summer translates into not enough heat for their ripening) we have still managed a bountiful harvest from our garden.

While the taste of our raw garden tomatoes might be oddly unspectacular at the moment, they still cook up into something wonderful.

Tomato White Bean Bacon Soup — Elise Bauer

Of course, in our book everything is better with bacon, which is probably why we like this soup so much.

Yukon Gold potatoes are preferred because they hold their shape well and don't disintegrate into the soup the way Russets can.

Recipe adapted from one submitted by Verrill Farm for The Best of Tastes cookbook fundraiser for Concord Family Service.

Tomato, White Bean, Bacon Soup

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 60 mins

Servings 8 to 10 servings

We've used canned white beans here for their convenience. If you want you can take this soup up a notch and use dried beans, you can make them on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker.

1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups peeled (about 3/4 lb), chopped potatoes (recommend Yukon Gold)
6 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes (or canned whole tomatoes with juice)*
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
* To peel fresh tomatoes, cut a shallow cross on one end, blanch in boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove from boiling water and the peels should easily come off.

Cook bacon:

Cook bacon on medium heat in a large thick-bottomed pot (5 to 6 quart) until lightly browned and fat is rendered.

Elise Bauer

Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from the pan. Set on a plate lined with a paper towel. Drain off all but 1 Tbsp of bacon fat.
Sauté onion and garlic, add potatoes:

Add the chopped onion to the pot, cook in the bacon fat on medium heat until soft.

Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more.

Add the chopped peeled potatoes and cook a few minutes more.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Add tomatoes, stock, simmer:

Add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes (or longer).

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Add beans, blend half the soup:

Stir in the brown sugar. Add half of the beans to the mixture. Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup mixture (or blend half of the soup in a standing blender and return to the pot).

Elise Bauer
Add bacon, remaining beans:

Add bacon to the soup and the rest of the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty bread.