Monastery Bean Soup - one of my Most Favorites

I reserve the last post of the year for one of my most favorite recipes.  Today's is one that I have made since the early 1990s:  Monastery Bean Soup.  I like it because it is different from most bean soups in that it is more brothy, very garlicky, and rich on the tongue.

I have no idea why it is called "Monastery".  I can only speculate and will probably be completely wrong.  This makes me laugh!

In 1993, my mom's side of the family organized a big reunion in Branson, Missouri. Many of us decided to contribute something memorable to the event, like performing skits, singing songs, telling family stories, and more.  I chose to gather family recipes and create a cookbook, and I put this soup recipe into it as part of my contribution.  I was able to assemble and print the entire thing before we gathered, and was happy to be able to hand out copies to everyone who wanted one.  Now, nearly 30 years later, it is fun and touching to read it over.  I think of that good time and of the really nice people in my family.

It is fitting to include this recipe in my most favorites list.  

Monastery Bean Soup

3/4 cup dried navy beans, soaked in hot water for 2 hours or in cold water overnight

6 cups broth (I actually prefer 8 to 12)

1 cup onion, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cup diced carrots

1 seeded and diced yellow pepper

5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or more!)

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

garnish with croutons, red wine vinegar, plain yogurt

The broth is in the saucepan.

Drain beans, then add the broth and simmer for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions and carrots in a little olive oil until the carrots are tender and the onions are limp and clear.  Add pepper, garlic, and caraway.  Cook 1 minute more.

Add a ladle of bean liquid to the onion mixture and stir.  Add onion mixture to the beans.

Simmer, covered, until beans are tender, about 20 minutes.  Thicken the soup a little by crushing some of the beans with a wooden spoon or potato masher.

Add tomatoes and soy sauce and cook 5 minutes more.

At the table, add croutons to the individual bowls, pour on soup, and add a splash of vinegar or a spoonful of yogurt.

My Notes

Today I soaked the beans in water that I heated on the stove until it was steaming.  Once it was hot I put the beans in, turned off the heat, put the lid on the pot, and let them stand for 2 hours.

Then I drained them and added them to the 6 cups of lovely, rich stock I had made from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass.  Once they started simmering I set the timer and got busy on the vegetables.

The broth is still jellied, so the beans sat on top.

The onions and carrots were so pretty as they cooked in the pan!  There was no rush to get them cooked and I noticed it took about 15 minutes to reach the desired level of tenderness.

Just starting.

I turned off the heat and let them wait until the bean simmer was nearly over.  Then I added the pepper, garlic, and caraway.  Now I love the garlic in this soup and I used garlic that was already chopped (from a jar).  I probably put in more than 5 cloves' worth, and I didn't mind at all.

The veggies!

It took about 30 minutes on the second simmer to get the beans tender.  Once they were ready, I added the tomatoes and soy sauce.  

Ready for the tomatoes.

I served the soup about 30 minutes after the tomatoes were added, so to avoid over cooking them, I turned the heat off as soon their five minutes was up.  Then I quickly reheated the soup to steaming just before serving.

The Verdict

How many croutons you put in the bowl is a personal choice.  They tend to soak up the broth and turn the soup into a stew, so judge accordingly.  I used seasoned croutons ("homestyle", meaning they were big) which add some extra flavor to the mix.  My guest taster and I both put a lot of croutons in!

Yum!

Our soup did turn into a stew.  We wished there was more broth, which is why I put my note in the ingredient list about using more.  Nevertheless, it was tasty, as I expected.

The dark is the balsamic drizzle.

My guest taster had never had it before and really enjoyed it.  He liked the amount of garlic, the croutons and the little crunch they added, and the flavor.  

I liked all of that as well as the fresh (not really cooked) tomatoes along with all the other vegetables.  He was surprised that the pepper was in it as he expected it to have a chile bite from it.  The yellow pepper I used is not fiery, just flavorful, and adds a different background note to the broth.

I also love the caraway in it.  Caraway is one of my favorite flavors, so I can't really go wrong here.  I think it brings the soup's flavor to a higher level.

When I put the recipe into the family cookbook, I had not yet learned about the joys of balsamic vinegar.  I was out of red wine vinegar and have a very nice aged balsamic (with a syrup-like consistency), which went very well on this soup/stew.  In the past I have also put sour cream on instead of plain yogurt.  It is all good.

This is a hearty main course dish, and made enough for 2 to 4 servings -- more if there is more broth to go around.  All we added to the meal was a good pinot noir.

Success, as always.  I hope you enjoy this personal favorite.  Think of good times and good people when you serve it.