White Bean Chorizo Soup
As we enter into the longest winter months with January barely having come to a close, it seems like it will never be warm again. These are the months for soups, stews, and roasts; hearty and cozy. This is one such soup. It is creamy (without any cream) and I hereby dub it my Winter Soup, topped with spicy chorizo, salty pepitas, and a dash of oregano. Thank you Whiffletree Farm for the chorizo in the January CSA. And thank you Edible DC for putting this recipe in my inbox right when I needed it most.
what you need
2 cans canellini or navy beans in their juices
1 yellow onion, diced
2 Russet potatoes; peeled
1 tablespoon fennel seed
2 tablespoons oregano
1 pound spicy chorizo
4 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or cooking sherry
1 tablespoon paprika
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
(optional) For serving: 1/4 cup pepitas tossed in olive oil, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and a dash of cinnamon. Toast under broiler for 1 minute until crispy and allow to cool.
how to make it
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a soup pot and sauté onions until translucent, adding the garlic and cooking slowly over medium heat. Add the fennel and oregano, and cook for another minute.
Add beans with all their juices and chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a slight boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the diced, peeled potatoes, cover, and cook on a medium simmer for 30 minutes.
In separate pan, chip up the chorizo and brown like ground beef or, alternatively, roll the chorizo into tiny meatballs. Once cooked completely through, add the cooking sherry, paprika, and oregano, stir, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. If using, simultaneously toast the pepitas under the broiler.
Once potatoes are tender in the soup, puree all soup contents in blender and return to soup pot. Ladle about two cups of soup into a bowl and top with about half a cup of chorizo, a dash of cayenne pepper or sweet paprika, and a pinch of toasted pepitas. Serve.
I have also had the thought that crispy, spicy kale chips would be an excellent topping for this in lieu of the toasted pepitas, but the cinnamon on the pepitas really rounds out the warmness of the soup.
Sounds yummy and hearty! Can’t wait to try it!