This hearty south of the border inspired White Bean Tomatillo Verde Soup is full of robust flavor! This soup has many layers of flavors from the beans, the zesty tomatillo salsa, the roasted peppers and the spiciness from the serranos.
It has been 4 years since Ang and I started this blog. It all started one day when I called Ang to tell her that I was going to start a blog. She suggested that we start it together and that is exactly what we did. We covered topics such as recipes, fashion, restaurants, wineries, interviews, health, passion videos and photos.
In the beginning, we used to post up to 5 times a week but the posts were very weak with minimal content. We plugged along consistently learning everything we could about running a blog. We taught ourselves food photography and styling with the help of the Internet. We learned how to write recipes and instructions, brushed up on our Photoshop skills and continued to learn photo editing. We learned about social media marketing and how to build our own self-hosted WordPress website. We learned SEO, we searched for all the plugins we needed and we learned a whole lot more!
About a year and a half later, we decide to streamline our topics to recipes, interviews, restaurants and wineries. Ang became more involved with cocktail recipes and I became very passionate in the area of food recipes. We had a lot of fun collaborating and inspiring each other.
Sadly, that era has come to an end and Ang is now moving on from the blog. It’s sad but also very exciting. She has been working for a new company and she is loving it! She was able to quit the restaurant industry and now is able to enjoy weekends and holidays with her friends and family. This will be the first Thanksgiving and Christmas that she will be able to spend with the boys and I couldn’t be happier for them! I will continue on with CaliZona and there will always be a place for Ang when she feels like creating a new cocktail. I added her cocktails to the recipe drop-down menu so you can find them when you are craving one of her delicious creations! Here’s to a new time full of inspiration and creativity!!
White Bean Tomatillo Verde Soup - CaliZona
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 White Onion – diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic – minced
- 1 Vegetable Bouillon Cube – unsalted
- 3 Cups Dried White Beans
- 7 Cups Filtered Water - set aside
- 2 Poblano Peppers – roasted – diced - roast the 3 for the salsa at the same time
- 1 Red Bell Pepper – roasted – diced
- 1 Yellow Pepper - diced
- 2 Serrano Peppers – minced - optional
- Tomatillo Salsa Verde – recipe below
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Sea Salt – or to taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- Queso Fresca Cheese Optional
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
- 3 Poblano Peppers - roasted
- 8 Tomatillos
- 1/2 White Onion
- 1 Serrano Chili Peppers
- 1 Cup Cilantro
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice – fresh squeezed
- 2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
Instructions
Beans
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Sort through the beans to remove any rocks and rinse.
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Add the beans to a large pot and cover with about 3 inches of filtered water above the beans.
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Remove any beans that float as these tend to remain hard.
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You can soak the beans overnight here if you prefer.
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Bring to a boil and turn the heat in between medium-low and low heat for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are soft.
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Older beans take longer to soften. The beans can be cooked the day ahead.
Peppers
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While beans are cooking, roast the red bell and poblano peppers for the soup and for the tomatillo salsa verde.
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Roast the peppers on the stovetop on medium-high heat. A gas stove works the best but it will work fine on an electric stove.
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Char the peppers on all sides turning with a pair of tongs. When good and charred, steam them for 10 minutes in a covered dish or a paper bag rolled shut to hold in the steam.
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Take a paper towel and rub off the char. It’s ok to leave a little of the char.
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Slice in half and remove the seeds and stems.
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Dice two of the poblanos and the bell pepper then set aside in a covered bowl. This can be done the day ahead.
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In a food processor or by hand, mince the serrano peppers then add to the bowl of diced roasted peppers.
Tomatillo Salsa Verde (this can be done the day ahead)
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Cut the cores out of the tomatillos and cut them in half then spread them out on a baking sheet cut side down.
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Turn on the broiler and broil tomatillos for 5 -7 minutes then flip over and broil for another 2 to 4 minutes or until really soft.
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Add onion to a pot of water and bring to a boil then remove and put into the food processor.
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When tomatillos are done, let cool, then remove and add to a food processor.
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Add the remaining 3 roasted poblanos and the serrano to the food processor along with cilantro, lime, and salt. Puree and set aside until the beans are cooked.
Soup
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Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
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Add the onion and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
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Turn heat to medium-low and cook for about 5 minutes.
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Add the minced garlic and minced serrano peppers and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes more or until onions are soft and garlic just starts to become lightly golden.
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Once the garlic becomes golden, add the bouillon cubes and wine to the onions. Mash the bouillon to dissolve.
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When beans are cooked completely, strain out the water and add them and the 7 cups of water to the onions.
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Add tomatillo salsa verde and diced roasted peppers.
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Add the corn and salt. Cook for a few minutes to warm up the corn.
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If you feel it’s too thick, add another cup or so of water.
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It is great topped with queso fresco cheese.
Health benefits:
White Beans are a super source of dietary fiber, which is good for the prevention of constipation, also helps digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis. They are great for heart health because of their significant amounts of folate (support of red blood cell formation, one cup of the cooked beans provides 63.7% of the recommended daily intake for folate) and magnesium (lowers blood pressure). They are good for helping insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes, and help you balance blood sugar levels while providing steady energy.
Tomatillos have been found to have antibacterial and anti-cancer properties from the Ixocarpa Lactone -A, a phyto-chemical. They contain niacin, which helps convert food into energy. They are a rich source of vitamin C and flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants, vitamin K that increases bone mass, potassium that helps electrolyte regulation, nerve function, muscle control, and blood pressure, folate that supports red blood cell formation and fiber. They are without sugars, low in salt and cholesterol-free.
Poblano Peppers are extremely high in vitamin C; just one pepper has 95% of your daily value. They are great for your immune system and help to reduce inflammation like in arthritis and asthma. They are also helpful with the increase of oxygen helping the body to burn more calories 20 minutes after eating peppers. They are full of vitamin A, vitamin K, and potassium.
