Tomato, White Bean & Coconut Soup
The photo shoot for my upcoming book took place in Richmond, VA, last month and although we were shooting a “summer” scene, it was actually 22 degrees and snowing outside (we had to edit out snowflakes in some shots, a laborious process that photographer Chelsea Fullerton painstakingly accomplished).
Photo Stylist and Design Director, Jennifer Elsner is not only a talent in the design world but an amazing cook too, so, surprise, Jen had made a home cooked lunch for us and our crew. The main attraction was a creamy, warm tomato soup
See my recipe adaptation below, with a jar of organic tomatoes. I didn’t have any garbanzo beans on hand, so I used white cannelloni beans instead. It was delicious both ways.
Preparation
1. Heat coconut oil in a medium size dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic a few pinches of salt and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the paprika and stir for 30 seconds or so. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and stir, then add the tomatoes, coconut sugar and thyme leaves. Add the white beans, coconut milk and water. Cover pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2. Pour soup into a blender and puree, or use your hand-held immersion blender in the pot. Taste and adjust the seasonings for salt and pepper. I added more sea salt at this step, cayenne pepper and smoked pepper.
3. Serve topped with a drizzle of olive oil, or a few very thin slices of avocado looks gorgeous and tastes delicious as well.
You can substitute dairy for coconut milk if you prefer, a half and half or cream would be appropriate. I used ground thyme since my herbs are not growing yet this spring, a scant half teaspoon did the trick.
