Heirloom Bean, Rice and Veggie Soup
Any white bean, really, but this happened to be with some heirlooms. The basil pesto makes it all work. Inspired by the Monsieur Marcel's Spring Ayocote Pistou Vegetable Soup on Rancho Gordo's site.
See Monsieur Marcel's Spring Ayocote Pistou Vegetable Soup for the inspiration
1.5 cups dried white beans (heirloom makes it fun). Rinsed, picked over. Soak for a few hours if you can. If relatively fresh and smaller, overnight is usually not needed.
5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled. Leave 1 whole, mince the rest
1 bay leaf
3-4 carrots, large dice
2-3 celery stalks, match the carrot in dice size
1 yellow onion, diced or sliced thin (up to you)
1.5 - 2 cups green beans (trimmed)
1 cup brown rice, rinsed. I used jasmine. Up to you.
2 pints cherry or other small tomatoes
1 bunch basil
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tbl lemon juice
Parm/Romano/Feta cheese for serving
Cover the beans with 1 inch of water, add bay leaf and the whole peeled garlic. Bring to a simmer over a medium high heat.
Skim off any foam that forms on top of the beans, and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20-40 minutes or so (depending upon the beans and if you soaked, could be longer). Remove the garlic and the bay leaf. Keep the beans in their cooking liquid. <This can all be done ahead>
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a soup pot. Add salt.
Add the beans and their cooking liquid.
Add the carrots, onion, green beans, rice and tomatoes. Bring back to a simmer.
If you have a rind of parmesan, this would the time to throw that in the pot.
Partially cover, cook for 45-60 minutes.
While soup is cooking, slice the basil into small ribbons. Add to a bowl with the garlic, olive oil and the lemon juice.
When vegetables are soft and rice is cooked, remove from heat. Add basil/garlic mixture. Spoon a bit of soup into the basil mixing bowl and pour back into the soup to ensure you get all the flavors.
Top with parm or other cheese. You may add salt, but it’s been salted a bit before hand.