I call this fancy just because it is an amazing soup for just being a bean soup.  Creamy, rich, spicy, and full of goodness and health.   I am having a bowl for breakfast as I type this as I just couldn’t wait to get back to it.  What made this even better is I found some against the grain baguettes at the store.   Oh yeah!, they were good dipped in olive oil served on a fancy little plate beside my soup.   Not perfect and I dont’ think I will spend that much on a baguette again but it was a great night of food.

Fancy Bean Soup.

Olive oil ~ 1/4 lb of prosciutto, diced ~ 1 carrot diced ~ 1 large shallot ~1 stalk celery ~ 2 cloves garlic ~ Fresh ground pepper and sea salt ~ 1 small can tomato paste ~ two cans of beans of your choice ~ 1 qt vegetable stalk ~ 1 qt water ~ 2 large potatoes ~large pinch of rosemary ~pinch of crushed red pepper flakes ~ sprinkle of chili powder ~1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese.

Garnish is sour cream, chives, parmesan cheese or whatever you feel you would enjoy.

1.  Put about 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the diced *prosciutto.    Saute till the fat has crisped a little.   (I don’t like fatty meat feel in my mouth when I eat) 2.  Add the diced carrot, celery, shallot, and garlic and saute till soft  You don’t want the veggies to get brown or carmalized just soft. 3.  Add the tomato paste and work into your veggie mixture so it’s evenly distributed.   4.  Add in the broth, water and cut up *potatoes (leave potatoes in larger chucks you will be removing them) and do a low boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. 5.  Remove potatoes and turn them into mashed potatoes (I used an immersion hand-held blender).  Return the mashed potatoes to the soup.  6.   Rinse and drain your *beans and add to the soup.  heat for about 10 minutes to let the beans get hot. 7.  Just before serving stir in *rosemary, chili pepper, and cheese.

Garnish at the table with your choice of garnish.

*If you do not have prosciutto or you find it too expensive, you can sub a thin sliced smoked bacon.  * If you do not keep potatoes in your house (like me) you can sub two cups prepared instant mashed potatoes to add in step 5 * beans, I use whatever I have.  I prefer black beans in the recipe however cannelli, and white beans work well. I used canelli and black beans in last nights soup and it was awesome.   I like beans with a higher protein content.

to make this dairy free just omit cheese.

It was a rainy day here in Alaska and I sure enjoyed my soup.   Hope you enjoy it as well.