I grew up with a mother who could make a tasty pot of soup from just about anything. Whenever we had a roast dinner we knew that we were going to be enjoying a lovely pot of soup at some point within the next couple of days. We almost NEVER had soup from a can, unless it was tomato soup.
Chicken soup, turkey soup, beef soup, ham/pea soup. Mom made all of our soups, and she made the best soups in the world. No matter how far away from home we travelled, we ALL looked forward to her taking a container of her homemade soup out of the freezer and heating it up for us when we arrived.
She had the knack. I think it was that extra portion of love that she put into her soups which made them taste so good. I learned how to make soup from her, but mine (to my way of thinking) never taste as good as the memory of hers does. Funny how that goes!
I had blood tests and afterwards was going out shopping with my sister this morning (Monday as I write this), and I wanted something delicious waiting for me when I got home that wouldn't require a lot of work. I decided to make some soup in my crock pot.
Making soup in the crockpot/slow cooker is such a simple thing to do. You just throw everything in, cover it, and walk away. The crockpot does all of the work. This was a recipe I adapted from a page called Cooktop Cove.
To be honest, I usually avoid that page. Something just doesn't ring true about it, and I see a lot of their photographs on other sites. They never put out the title of their recipes either when you see them on Pinterest. You have to click through to find out what the recipe is for and called. I usually click away from it when I see the words Cooktop Cove. This time I didn't and it actually worked out deliciously.
I did cut the recipe in half, and switched out a few things.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CROCKPOT FIRE ROASTED TOMATO & WHITE BEAN SOUP
You really don't need a lot of ingredients, and most of them are very simple and uncomplicated. If you cannot find fire roasted tomatoes, simply use any tinned chopped tomato.
- 1 can (14 1/2 oz/420g) fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces/425g) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small cooking onion, peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 fat clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 cups (480ml) vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf broken
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- salt and black pepper to taste
As I said, you really don't need to use fire roasted tomatoes in this if you cannot get them. True confession here, I just used plain tomatoes and this soup was still delicious.
You could use any cooked white bean. Cannellini, great northern, pea beans, etc. If you double the recipe to make a larger batch, you could mix together two kinds of beans. This would add extra interest and be very visually appealing.
I used boiling water and two organic vegetable stock cubes. This brought a lot of flavor to the soup. To be honest I did not have to use a lot of salt.
I used pre-minced garlic. I keep some in the fridge. It is organic garlic and does not come from China. Sorry but I don't like Chinese Garlic. I don't really like to use any foodstuffs that come from China to be honest. I find their farming methods to be quite suspect and I don't trust them. That's just me.
I always break my bay leaves in half when I use them, this helps to release all of the flavor from the leaf. In the U.K. I had a bay laurel tree in my back garden and I always had my own fresh bay leaves to use.
I used plain Italian seasoning, not garlic Italian seasoning.
HOW TO MAKE CROCPOT FIRE ROASTED TOMATO AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
This is so simple anyone could make it. Once you have your vegetables chopped, everything goes together lickety split!
I used my 2 1/2 QT mini crockpot. It is just the right size. Combine the drained beans, undrained tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots and garlic in the crockpot.Pour in the vegetable stock, stirring everything together.
Add the Italian seasoning and broken bay leaf, making sure that the bay leaf is submerged in the liquid. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 3 to 4 hours.'To serve, remove the bay leaf and give everything a good stir. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated soup bowls and serve hot with some crackers or crusty bread on the side.
I was surprised at just how delicious this soup was, and I really don't know why. It usually is simple soups like this one that taste the best. Simple ingredients put together in a very simple way.
They just work well together. You can of course double everything and cook it in a larger crockpot for a larger crowd if you wish.
I enjoyed with some salted crackers, but a crusty baguette or roll would also work very nicely, or . . . if you were looking for something even heartier, a grilled cheese sandwich!
You really can't beat a tasty bowl of soup for a hearty lunch or a light supper on a beautiful Autumn Day. Crackers, crusty bread, or a sandwich are the perfect accompaniment. Here are a few more favorites of mine!
PEA SOUP WITH SHARP CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS - The first time I made this I was amazed. I would have never thought of putting dumplings on a pea soup, but it totally works, deliciously so. Creamy thick soup, moreish light dumplings. What's not to love!
COCONUT CURRY LENTIL SOUP - This soup is hearty and filling, low in fat, and loaded with goodness by way of two kinds of lentils, brown rice, shredded coconut, and a special mix of spices. It is, simply put, very delicious. A bowl of this and you will be in soup heaven. Not too spicy, just spicy enough, rich and thick.
Yield: 3 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner
Crockpot Fire Roasted Tomato & White Bean Soup
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 8 HourTotal time: 8 H & 5 MFabulously tasty with very little effort. Hearty, delicious, simple. Just throw everything into a crockpot and let the crockpot do all the work.Ingredients
- 1 can (14 1/2 oz/420g) fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces/425g) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small cooking onion, peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 fat clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 cups (480ml) vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf broken
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- I used my 2 1/2 QT mini crockpot. It is just the right size. Combine the drained beans, undrained tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots and garlic in the crockpot.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, stirring everything together.
- Add the Italian seasoning and broken bay leaf, making sure that the bay leaf is submerged in the liquid. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 3 to 4 hours.
- To serve, remove the bay leaf and give everything a good stir. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated soup bowls and serve hot with some crackers or crusty bread on the side.
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