Mexican White Bean Soup (with Bacon!)

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

This recipe has made its way into our family recipe binder, having passed muster by family here in Portland. This soup it mildly Mexican in character; however, has a nice complexity of flavors that is very pleasing. The recipe has been slightly modified to suit our tastes.

Mexican White Bean Soup

Source: (www.recipe.com)

This is a mild “sort of” Mexican soup, as it is quite mild in nature, but has really good flavor. I had some applewood smoked bacon, so fried it, drained it, then broke it up into small pieces and added to the soup. Per my DH, this has now become a staple in our home.

1-1/4 cups (8 oz) dried navy beans

6 cups water

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

1 cup diced celery (2-3 stalks)

1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 ea 14-1/2 oz can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth.

4 rashers of applewood smoked bacon: fried, drained and pulled into small pieces (optional)

2 cups water

Zest of one orange

Juice of one orange

1 cup salsa verde (used Trader Joe’s – excellent)

Toppings: Light dairy sour cream; chopped fresh cilantro; grated Monterey Jack cheese; a tic of cayenne

Rinse beans. In a 4-5 qt. Dutch oven, combine beans and 6 cups water. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans. *If needed, beans may be held in frig at this point, covered, until you have time to proceed later in the day.

In the Dutch oven cook onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bacon in hot oil until tender. Stir in cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Add broth, 2 cups water and beans. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1.5 hours or until beans are tender.

Using a handheld immersion blender, blend mixture slightly. OR, letting soup cool slightly, transfer soup 1/3 at a time into a blender, cover, and blend slightly-return blender contents to Dutch oven. Some beans should still remain whole. Add the orange zest, orange juice and cup of salsa verde and stir. Heat through. If desired, serve with some or all of the toppings listed above.

Enjoy! - Rebecca

luvsbulldogs · ‎03-14-2010

Hi sfnative....... this soup sounds delicious. I have copied and will be making it sometime in the near future. Always love a tried and true recipe. Thank you for sharing.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

On 4/6/2014 luvsbulldogs said:
Hi sfnative....... this soup sounds delicious. I have copied and will be making it sometime in the near future. Always love a tried and true recipe. Thank you for sharing.

Hi luvsbulldogs,

You know, I'm going to make this soup again this week, as we shared it with our DD and SIL. She had just found out she has to move her practice by mid-May and was so distracted with that, so I thought a meal would do her good and save her time, as she also has a 6 month old. The next day, my DH says, "Where's the rest of the soup?" Well, there wasn't any, as we had split the soup with DD and SIL. I must say I'm looking forward to it as well.

*Last Christmas DH gifted me with an immersion blender. He must have known something I didn't, because I've used it quite a bit. And, I know he didn't pay an arm and a leg for it.

**Bulldogs are so darn cute. And their puppies! Oh, my! You must have strong arms from dealing with your bulldogs. I am jealous!

Britbrit13 · ‎07-12-2011

I love this kinda soup, I am going to make some time soon, it will go really good with my bread!

Thank you! Britt

wendydarling · ‎03-14-2011

This sounds really good. Is a rasher of bacon one slice? Thanks for sharing.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

On 4/6/2014 wendydarling said:
This sounds really good. Is a rasher of bacon one slice? Thanks for sharing.

Yes, a rasher is one slice.

When I first made this soup, I used far too much bacon according to my first taste during cooking. Funny thing, however, was that by dinnertime the salt level had dropped considerably.

wendydarling · ‎03-14-2011

sfnative, thank you for responding.

I've had that happen to me frequently when preparing stews/soups. After i ladle into bowls & taste, i wonder where did the salt go? I guess it's all absorbed during cooking. I am not a salt fanatic but i do like things seasoned. I'm looking forward to trying this next fall when the weather cools off.

luvsbulldogs · ‎03-14-2010

On 4/6/2014 sfnative said:
On 4/6/2014 luvsbulldogs said:
Hi sfnative....... this soup sounds delicious. I have copied and will be making it sometime in the near future. Always love a tried and true recipe. Thank you for sharing.

Hi luvsbulldogs,

You know, I'm going to make this soup again this week, as we shared it with our DD and SIL. She had just found out she has to move her practice by mid-May and was so distracted with that, so I thought a meal would do her good and save her time, as she also has a 6 month old. The next day, my DH says, "Where's the rest of the soup?" Well, there wasn't any, as we had split the soup with DD and SIL. I must say I'm looking forward to it as well.

*Last Christmas DH gifted me with an immersion blender. He must have known something I didn't, because I've used it quite a bit. And, I know he didn't pay an arm and a leg for it.

**Bulldogs are so darn cute. And their puppies! Oh, my! You must have strong arms from dealing with your bulldogs. I am jealous!

Hi sfnative......My husband loves soups so I am certain that he will love this one. I too love soups. That was very thoughtful of you to share with your family. I am sure that they enjoyed it.

I have an immersion blender and will definitely be using it for this recipe like you stated.

We had a bulldog that lived for 14 years and we miss him terribly. Years back when we had ours I was more physically fit but now not so much. Hubby still wants to get another one so I am certain we probably will. They love people and are always glued to your side and ours was very friendly. he even got into the UPS delivery truck wanting to go for a ride with the driver....lol.

Thanks again for posting this recipe.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

On 4/11/2014 luvsbulldogs said:
On 4/6/2014 sfnative said:
On 4/6/2014 luvsbulldogs said:
Hi sfnative....... this soup sounds delicious. I have copied and will be making it sometime in the near future. Always love a tried and true recipe. Thank you for sharing.

Hi luvsbulldogs,

You know, I'm going to make this soup again this week, as we shared it with our DD and SIL. She had just found out she has to move her practice by mid-May and was so distracted with that, so I thought a meal would do her good and save her time, as she also has a 6 month old. The next day, my DH says, "Where's the rest of the soup?" Well, there wasn't any, as we had split the soup with DD and SIL. I must say I'm looking forward to it as well.

*Last Christmas DH gifted me with an immersion blender. He must have known something I didn't, because I've used it quite a bit. And, I know he didn't pay an arm and a leg for it.

**Bulldogs are so darn cute. And their puppies! Oh, my! You must have strong arms from dealing with your bulldogs. I am jealous!

Hi sfnative......My husband loves soups so I am certain that he will love this one. I too love soups. That was very thoughtful of you to share with your family. I am sure that they enjoyed it.

I have an immersion blender and will definitely be using it for this recipe like you stated.

We had a bulldog that lived for 14 years and we miss him terribly. Years back when we had ours I was more physically fit but now not so much. Hubby still wants to get another one so I am certain we probably will. They love people and are always glued to your side and ours was very friendly. he even got into the UPS delivery truck wanting to go for a ride with the driver....lol.

Thanks again for posting this recipe.

Aw, luvsbulldogs, what a sweetie you had! Imagine him wanting to get into the UPS truck! I can just picture that. Hope you're husband gets his wish for another. Have a wonderful weekend.

Christie B · ‎04-26-2010

I made this soup from your recipe a few days ago, and my family really enjoyed it! I think the next time I will process only a few of the beans (I did about 3/4 of the beans this time) as we like a little more texture. This first try was more like a cream soup consistency. I'm not criticizing at all because regardless, the flavor was delish! The orange zest and juice really brightened the flavor, and we like anything with cumin and cilantro. Thanks for posting this soup recipe.