Hearty Soup Weather

13 Degrees this morning, time for hearty winter soup

White Bean With Bacon Soup

1-cup dry white beans 

1 large onion chopped

4-5 carrots chopped

mushrooms sliced 

4-5 stalks celery sliced

sweet or hot peppers sliced 

2-3 slices of bacon chopped

1-pound pork tenderloin cubed 

Splash of Port

Olive oil

The evening before start with dry white beans.  You can use any white bean, navy beans, great northern beans, or cannelloni.  Sort the beans, removing any small rocks, or malformed beans.  Rinse with water, place in a bowl and cover with water and leave to soak overnight.  The beans will double or triple in bulk overnight - use a bowl that is larger then you think you need.  When you are ready to start cooking the soup, drain and rinse the beans. Without the soak, the beans will take twice as long to cook and may never get soft enough to eat.

Chop the bacon and place to brown in an oversize pot.  Add a splash of olive oil, chopped onions and sliced mushrooms.  Saute the onions and mushrooms and allow to slightly brown.  De-glaze the the pot with a splash of port. Add chopped carrots, celery and peppers, cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the soaked white beans and water to cover, bring to a simmer. Split the pork tenderloin lengthwise and quarter, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks.  Add to the simmering soup.  Cover, simmer on low to very low heat.  Taste after an hour or so and adjust with salt and pepper.  Simmer 3-5 hours covered, checking periodically.  Add additional water if needed.

Chop Bacon and brown onions and mushrooms, with bacon and a splash of olive oil. 

Nice multi-color carrots from Trader Joes

I picked up a nice brown on the onions and mushrooms, resulting in a dark rich color for the finished soup.