Rosemary White Bean Soup

This is an easy and very flavorful soup that you can make pretty quickly on a week night if you can remember to put your beans on to soak that morning before work.  Or if you don't work, when you finally tear your eyes away from The Today Show to pour yourself another cup of coffee and prepare yourself for a day of bon bons and yoga.  Oh and an hour of cardio to burn off the bon bons, coffee that is 3 parts peppermint mocha and 1 part coffee and this soup.

Actually this soup is what I would call healthy.  Healthy-ER if you leave out the peppered ham.

I was just kidding above.  I don't want to work.  I want to be a stay at home puppy Mom.  I'm jealous of you stay at home whatevers.  Unless you are at home and do not want to be.  Then I'm thankful that I have a job and I'll be quiet.  

Back to RWBS.  Should I abbreviate all recipes like this?

I didn't take a picture of the ingredients because I didn't know this would pass my husband's taste test so I'll tell you what you need.

1 lb of white beans (different types, go with what you like)
3 small onions
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 branch of rosemary (or dried if that is all you have)
2 quarts chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt (taste test always before adding salt)
1 teaspoon pepper
Peppered Ham:  As much or as little as you want

Soak your beans for about 8 hours or until they are pretty soft.

Take three smallish onions and dice them up.  You can use less if this much onion scares you but no less than one and a half.... it's the flavor!

Then pour 1/4 cup of olive oil in your heavy pot and let it heat up.  

Throw all of the onions in the heated olive oil and saute about 10 minutes on medium high heat.  You want the onions to soften but not brown. 

In the meantime chop up two cloves of garlic.  

You do not want to add the garlic too early or it will burn.  Another reason to make sure your onions are softened before adding the garlic.

Next you will add your chicken stock.  Please buy the lower sodium version.  You can always add salt but starting out too salty is so sad.

Then add your well soaked beans.

Now on to your good friend the Bay Leaf.  Only one is needed.  Please do not forget to fish it out when you are ready to serve.  

Ok.  I had to use dried rosemary.  No, I really did.  If you can scrounge up a stick of rosemary please use it.  If not.... get out your dried rosemary and pretend it's going to taste as good as fresh.  

Stir everything together, salt and pepper to taste and let your mouth water for a minute.

Get out your peppered ham.  

Chop chop chop 

Once everything is combined, put a lid on it and let it cook together on low medium heat for 40 to 50 minutes.  Stir occasionally and taste it to see if you need more salt or pepper.  The ham adds a lot of both so taste test and don't get salt happy or you'll ruin dinner and your week.  Your. whole. week.

After the beans are soft and you've tasted it multiple times before declaring it edible you can serve it up with some crusty bread and heat it up for days after!  

Oh an idea that I was not able to do because until December 25, 2010 I did not own a food processor.... stick that bean soup in your food processor and puree it!!  Yum.  I'll try it next time and let you know how the ham works during that process...