That brown looking blob is not a Tootsie Roll in my soup. [Or any other little brown thing you can think of.] It’s a huge bean!!!
I found these HUUUUGE beans in our Whole Foods bulk bins. I love huge beans! The bigger the better – they have more meat to chew. Last night I soaked them in water and this morning I simmered them for about an hour until they were tender while I did house things. That meant when it was time to make tonight’s dinner I had minimal prep to do.
To make this simple soup, I tossed a few more foods into a pot and simmered for 30 minutes.
The whole was greater than the sum of its parts!
Huge Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Collard Greens
Serves 6
Prep time: It depends on if you do your bean homework!
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 quart of dried beans, soaked and cooked (about 6 cups after cooking, maybe 3 whole cans worth? You can just eyeball the volume beans as they won’t really change the soup much.)
- 2 slices of bacon (optional)
- 1 huge sweet potato, microwaved until its soft and cut into cubes (if you skip microwaving, cook soup a little longer)
- 2 big carrots, diced
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 small bunch collard greens, cleaned and chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Many grinds of black pepper
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Gold Herby Nuggets OR some fresh garlic and a few dried herbs of your choice
Method
- Once beans are cooked, sweet potato is tender, carrots and greens are clean and chopped, add bacon to big pot to brown.
- When bacon is brown, add carrot, sweet potato and beans and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add stock and spices. Stir.
- Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Top with fresh greens, stir and cover with lid.
- Simmer for 20-30 minutes, longer if desired.
We served the soup with stuffing bread croutons made fresh at the bakery today. The stuffing bread tastes like stuffing but it also makes good stuffing!
Matt RAVED about this. He proclaimed it his ideal soup!
I raved about his new smoked brown ale. Maybe my ideal brown ale!?
The Lord of the Rings saga continues in our family room. Although I just missed 45 minutes of The Two Towers while I was blogging!
{ 61 comments… read them below or add one }
that stuffing bread is incredible!!!
glad you like it!!
what a perfect winter’s night dinner. i love soups when the weather starts turning cold… glad to know that’s a bean and not a tootsie!
holy bean. it does look like…a tootsie.
That soup looks delicious and I have never seen such large beans!!! That’s crazy!
is the stuffing bread whole wheat based?
About 1/3 whole wheat
Exactly how big are those beans? I always put butter beans in my soups, because they are big, and I love their name!
They’re the size of my thumb digit!
People always look at me like I’m crazy when I use those giant beans. I love them!
I actually thought of you today, while shopping at Nordstrom… my salesman’s name was Kale!
Haha – that’s a pretty cool name!!
I just ordered the Chia Charger pack for an early christmas present. So excited!!
You will love it!
You guys are too cute. Sounds like a perfect night in, warm soup, big beans, the couch and a good movie. Happy Friday!
Oh my gosh I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bean so big in my life!! Looks delicious – perfect for this cooler weather
Happy Friday – enjoy your LOTR marathon
A LOTR night sounds like my kind of Friday- although, if I’m going to sit down and watch a trilogy, it’s going to be Star Wars
Holyyyy crap! I’m a fan. Bigger the better, no? I’m tempted to do an internship with you this summer and eat a large amount of GH bread every day
I’m with you! The bigger the better when it comes to beans—- and chocolate bars AND wine glasses
Did the beans have a name? I’ve never seen anything like them!
They did, but I didn’t happen to see it. I’ll try to look next time I’m there
That does NOT look like a bean! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so big (I’ll just say it before anyone else does…TWSS
)
The beans look like bugs! I’ve never eaten a bug, but I’m sure the beans taste better.*
Glad I caught this tweet, lady. Gorgeous looking soup!
I think Tootsie Roll soup could be pretty good…that is, with a ‘broth’ of caramel sauce or something similar
Soup looks good…enjoy your weekend!
Ha!
Mmm…that looks so delicious! I’ve never added collards to my soup before!
Looks like a very delicious dinner, Kath! Thanks for sharing the soup recipe!
Looks delicious! If only we had the weather for hot soup here..
Have you ever tried beans from ranchogordo.com? We have a local specialty grocer that carries them. They can range in price, but I can honestly tell you that the beans from there are the BEST I have ever had! They have a Christmas Lima that is fantastic and meaty!
The soup looks great!
I just got some from Foodbuzz!!
That made me chuckle when you compared the bean in your soup to a Tootsie roll
I did not know what it was at first.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
The soup looks delish. Sad that your missing stuff cause your on the computer though -get off and go watch some Hobbits save the world!
Whoah, what? Those beans are crazy! Perfect name for the dish, though–”huge bean soup”. Classic.
that is the hugest bean i’ve ever seen!
I LOVE your soup bowls! Where did you find them?
Pottery Barn Great White!
I love soup with beans, always so hearty!
The ale and the soup make the perfect comfort food evening
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such huge beans! Adding this to my Whole Foods list for sure!
Um, that wouldn’t serve six. One, MAYBE two.
Maybe.
Hi Kath, I’m a big fan and a longtime reader (over 3 years, religiously). I think your blog is great and always interesting. I actually find myself missing it when I haven’t clicked in a few hours.
There is one thing that has been bothering me for a long time: your use of palm oil. http://ran.org/palm-oil
It’s in all of those nut butters you sell on OpenSky (I’ve checked.), biscoff, everywhere. It’s terrible for the environment and completely irresponsible to buy. You might as well be eating shark fins. As someone who is trying to extoll the virtues of green living, and in fact, winning awards for that, you might want to look into the horrors of palm oil. http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/forests/forests-worldwide/paradise-forests/palm-oil/
Maya,
I’m aware of the environmental impact of palm oil. Most of the nut butters I eat don’t have it (chia charger, sunflower butter, coconut butter, TJ’s peanut butter) but yes, a few do – like Barney Butter and Biscoff. If I had my choice of a palm oil nut butter or one with less ingredients, I would choose the simpler list. I think this is one of those earth-friendly things where you just have to choose your battles. We all can’t be perfect 100% of the time, and the palm oil in these products is in awfully low amounts. I do a lot of other things to lower my footprint.
Yum, soup. So I have a silly question about the ale: is it actually “smoked”? I have a friend who has a smoker and sometimes smokes things like whiskey. I don’t really understand how it works and am quite curious now!
Happy weekend!
It’s make with smoked malt!
To start with I thought it was something that accidentally landed in your soup, but then read it was a giant bean. It looks great, love huge beans, like butter beans, but this one looks even bigger. Lovely soup too
That sounds like pretty much my ideal soup too! I love soups with squash or sweet potato in them!
How cool! I’ve never seen beans that big
That looks like a small stuffed grape leaf!
I’m actually really afraid to eat beans. I have terrible bloating and digestion problems and I fear that beans will make them worse, you know? I’ve heard that lentils might be a good starting point? I’m not sure which ones and how much to try at once in order to try and ease into them. I usually buy the low sodium canned beans.
Beans can be hard on the GI tract, and you’re right that I think lentils are a bit easier to digest. The huge beans are probably not the best starting place
Tammy – You might want to try sprouted mung beans – they cook in 5 minutes (no soaking necessary) and are known for their easy digestion. I usually add them to salads to boost the protein content (10 grams = 1/4 cup!) Lentils would be a better choice for soups.
Fall and soup go hand in hand! Stuffing bread! How cool is that!
Do those beans have a name? I’ve never seen anything like them!
They do but I didn’t note it!
Speaking of soup… I had lentil soup for the first time last night and it was amazing! I am such a fan and want to recreate it at home soon.
I’m not crazy about brown ales in general, but I would love to sample Matt’s!
LOVE brown ales — sounds awesome. Was it really one he brewed or was it Moose Drool brown?
A clone of Moose Drool made with smoked malt!
Awesome! We’ve brewed before but it’s been a while…becoming inspired to go for it again
Thanks!
They look like they’re fava beans– a common ingredient found in the Middle East (look up foul- pronounced fool- recipes)! YUM.
I believe those huge beans could be fava beans , you know like in Silence of the Lambs ! MMMM fava beans and liver Clarise ! Beans , beans the musical fruit ! The more you eat , the more you toot ! The more you toot , the better you feel , so eat beans for every meal !! ENJOY 11 Audie