This Cheddar White Bean Soup with a Cilantro Flavor Bomb is a comfort food delight! The white beans and cheese sauce is a perfect match. The cilantro flavor bomb brings a magic to the soup.
I have been continually focusing on the simple things in life such as creativity, the people I love and health. It is so easy to become out of balance with what is important in life these days.
One of my favorites is when we get a kitty visit from Olive like we had last week. I get so much joy having her around even though she sleeps half the time. Another is practicing knitting, which can be a challenge. Yet, it’s the kind of challenge that keeps me going. My friend Alison taught another workshop where we dyed wool yarn in natural dye vats and learned to knit a hat. This is my first hat and it is so exciting. This time I chose to dye my yarn with logwood bark. Normally it comes out as a deep purple, but I decided to pull mine out immediately so it would turn out to be a pale lavender. It turned out gorgeous! I love that you can create warm cute items out of yarn along with needles. And, there is something so special about knitting with yarn I dyed myself from natural dyes made from items like flowers, leaves and tree bark. It has a whole different feeling versus manufactured dyed yarn.
What simple things are you enjoying these days?
Cheddar White Bean Soup with a Cilantro Flavor Bomb - CaliZona
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups White Beans - soaked overnight
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 Onion – 1 1/4 Cup – Diced
- 1 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Vegetable Boullion Cube - unsalted
- 6 Cups Filtered Water
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons White Rice Flour
- 2 Cups Milk or Half and Half
- 8 oz or 2 1/4 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese – shredded
- 2 - 3 Roasted Poblano - diced
- 1 Tablespoon +2 Teaspoons Sea Salt or to taste
Cilantro Flavor Bomb
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Garnish (make ahead)
- Cilantro Flavor Bomb - recipe above
- Roasted Poblano - diced
- Cilantro - roughly chopped
Instructions
Beans
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Sort through the beans to remove any rocks and rinse well.
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Cover beans with about 2 inches above beans with water.
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Carefully remove any floating beans as these tend to stay hard.
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Soak the beans overnight.
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Drain the water from the beans, rinse and set aside.
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Dice the onion and add to a 5 1/2 quart soup pot along with the oil and saute on medium-low heat until onions are soft and translucent.
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Add in the garlic and when the garlic becomes golden.
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Add the bouillon with a tablespoon of water and mash it up until it becomes a paste then add the 6 cups of water and the beans.
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Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to between medium-low and low for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are soft. (older beans take longer to soften) .
Peppers
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Roast 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.
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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 then dice them.
Cilantro Flavor Bomb
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Add everything to a food processor and puree. Scrape the sides and bottom at least once.
Cheese Sauce
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Shred the cheese and set it aside.
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In a large straight-sided pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.
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When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk for about a minute.
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Slowly whisk in the half and half a little at a time. It will clump and then smooth out.
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When the half and half is hot, slowly add the cheese a little at a time whisking constantly.
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When all the cheese is added and melted, add to the soup.
To serve
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Serve it with the flavor bomb, diced roasted poblano and topped with roughly chopped cilantro.
