Tuscan White Bean & Spinach Soup

justcallmetoni's Note:

This dish was inspired by Vote_for_Pedro's White Bean & Spinach Soup. Like the original, this is quick, easy and full of flavor. It makes a nice dinner for 4 served with a good salad or it can be a starting course and serve more. Use 3 or 4 cups of broth according to how thick you like your soups or how much liquid your pasta absorbs.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 8 mins
• Cook Time: 17 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove , finely minced
• 1 shallot , finely diced
• 3 -4 cups fat free chicken broth or 3 -4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can white beans (cannellini or other)
• ½ cup whole wheat pasta shells or ½ cup shell pasta
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 3 cups baby spinach , cleaned and trimmed
• 1⁄8; teaspoon black pepper
• 1 dash crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan, sautee the shallots & garlic in the olive oil.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, beans and rosemary to pot. Season with black and red pepper. Bring to boil.
3. Add pasta and cook 12 minutes. If the soup seems too thick for your liking add a bit more broth.
4. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

Reviews

[Mrs. Delishis]

We have really enjoyed this soup both times we've made it. It's also so easy to make and that makes me happy. :) I do sub basil for rosemary because I'm not really a rosemary fan, but otherwise I make it as is, put a little cheese on top and it's delicious!

[Chef #427952]

This soup was awesome!!! My kids and I made it for lunch with my Dad.
We all loved it. We agreed there was way too much pasta, but we ended up putting more in than the recipe called for. We also added a bag of chicken strips, and decided next time to double the chicken and decrease the amount of pasta. We did not use the rosemary but added oregano instead. I thought the white beans totally made the dish myself. We also added in diced zucchini. Hey anytime you can sneak in some extra veggies, you gotta do it.

[Doug Mc]

This was a very flavorful and healthy soup. The photo suggests the addition of grated cheese to the finished dish. I added a parmesan/romano blend and enjoyed it all with a crusty roll. I will add this to the rotation eagerly.