White Bean Soup with Bacon & Croutons
Ingredients
- For the soup
- 1 small white onion
- 1 small carrot
- 1 small stick of celery
- 25g butter
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/4 tsp mixed herbs
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 1 tin of cannellini beans
- Salt and pepper
- 2 rashers of bacon
- For the croutons
- 1 stale sourdough, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Parmesan to taste
- 1 tsp parsley
Instructions
METHOD:
- Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the diced veg and cook gently until soft.
- Add the crushed garlic and mixed herbs.
- Add the veg stock, the tin of beans (including the liquid) and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Fry off the streaky bacon until crispy.
- For the croutons, mix the diced sourdough with the olive oil and bake in the oven at 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/ gas mark 6 for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.
- Toss the croutons with the Parmesan whilst still hot and allow to cool.
- Serve the soup with extra shavings of Parmesan, crumbled bacon, a handful of croutons and chopped parsley.