Italian Bean And Spinach Soup

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• kidney beans, rinsed and drained (cannellini)
• 2 cups water
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 10 -12 ounces spinach, tough stems trimmed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
• 2 add onion and celery; cook, stirring, until celery is tender,5 to 8 minutes. stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
• 3 add beans, water, broth, pepper, and thyme; heat to boiling over high heat. reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• 4 roll up several spinach leaves together, cigar fashion, and thinly slice. repeat with remaining spinach.
• 5 with slotted spoon, remove 2 cups beans from soup mixture and reserve.
• 6 spoon one-fourth of mixture into blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until smooth.
• 7 pour into bowl.
• 8 repeat with remaining mixture.
• 9 return puree and reserved beans to saucepan; heat to.
• 10 boiling over medium-high heat.
• 11 stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
• 12 remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.