Annalena does Tina Turner: first we'll do easy then we'll do rough: simple bean soup

Ciao ragazzi.  Annalena is  here earlier than usual, because her, and the universe's schedule is wacky this weekend.  First, we have the loss of an hour tomorrow (which Annalena really needs), and on the good end, Annalena is making her annual trip to look at orchids, with the Guyman and a wonderful friend (and hopefully a wonderful friend to be).  So, she's a bit under the gun, getting things ready.  And, as she makes her "triumphant" return to the music studio tomorrow, there is more to do.   Hence, she needed a recipe that was very quick to help her through.

"When the Universe speaks, you MUST listen"  said at least one person, and it's true ragazzi.  Perhaps the biggest problem in the world today is a lack of attention being paid to .. EVERYTHING.  Sometimes, we are given signals, or instructions, or suggestions, that we don't follow because we just don't listen.  Annalena was made aware of this at least twice this week,  in a good way, both times.  One of them was this recipe. 

Years ago, Annalena watched a program hosted by David Rocco called "L'avventura."   She also man crushed on him mightilly.  Indeed, she would be lying if she said that she didn't think , more than every now and then, of taking a gondola ride (she's using euphemisms children), with this Canadian hunklet, even though he was very happily married, with children.  Years later, Annalena maintains that crush.  And wants to offer David that gondola ride whenever he wants it.  If he doesn't want to sail, Annalena will offer him this soup.

Ragazzi, Annalena has said this before, and she will say it again:  BEANS ARE YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR SAVIOR. Mr. Rocco posted this recipe for bean soup on Mr. Rocco's instagram page.   The universe spoke, she listened.  And  in less than 15 minutes, she had this soup.  

Here are your ingredients:

What you see are two quarts of cooked white beans, a jar of passata, olive oil, and rosemary. 

"Passata," best explained, is pureed, strained ripe tomatoes.  Raw.  This is not sauce, which changes the fresh flavor of the product.  Annalena's is yellow because she is a snob.  Usually, it is red.  You may need to hunt for it, and when you find it, stock up.  It IS seasonal, and no, cooked tomatoes will not substitute. 

Annalena used small white beans from the folks at Rancho Gordo.  She cooked them.  Again, ragazzi, learn  how to cook beans.  It is  not hard.  They freeze well, and they will save you in the kitchen.  And why cook them instead of using canned?  Ok:  pick up a can of beans, even organic ones, and look at the ingredients.  Then, open that can, and look at them.   It will convince you. 

So, justs under 2 quarts of beans:  maybe 7 cups, cooked.  3 cups of passata.  A few sprigs of rosemary.  And olive oil.

Now, you can make this soup, simply by combining  the beans and passata with a stalk of rosemary, heat it up, and you're done if you've poured some fresh olive oil over it.  But we're getting a little fancy.  First we're going to puree those beans in a blender, and then we are going to pass them, through a food mill:

What you see above are the pureed  beans from the blender.  You can proceed with your soup at this point, or you can mill the beans  You will get a very creamy, skin free puree at the end.     And you'll get about six cups of it.    

Once you have that, stir in the passata.   Just stir it in.  (Or, stir it in to the pureed beans).  Add a few stems of rosemary, and put it all in a pot.  Bring this just to the point where the soup bubbles:

Pull the rosemary sprigs out.  This is important, because rosemary is strong.  It will continue to infuse that soup and possibly make it unpleasant.  And given how hard you've "worked", well, you don't want that now, do you?  

Ragazzi,  get out the bowls, because you're done.  Seriously.  Give yourself a spritz of "Italian gold," on the top, but seriously, you have a soup that will taste as if  it's loaded with cream, and you AND ONLY YOU WILL KNOW  how deliriously healthy it is:

Annalena hopes you realize how many variations there are on this.  She used white beans. Don't have them?  Use another one.  Got some left over vegetables around, like carrots, or green beans, or broccoli?  Well, you know where they can go.  

Make yourself some toasted bread, and you've got lunch, or dinner, or... well, maybe a healthy snack. 

Easy, huh?  Well, good.  Because the next recipe, is going to be ROUGH