White Bean and Roasted Mushroom Soup

Before I begin - I apologize for my long absence from the Fork and Dagger... I have been very busy and as a result, cooking less and eating more nonsense. And by eating more nonsense I mean I have been eating lots of Dunkin everything bagels with cream cheese, McDonalds cheeseburgers, and pizza. While quite tasty, they were not quite blog-worthy.
But now we've passed the start of the year and like most, I have jumped back onto the diet bandwagon. (Woo!) Tonight's dinner is one of hopefully many more tasty, healthy meals to come!

White Bean and Roasted Mushroom Soup... Serves 8. Unless you halve it like I did. Then it serves 4. But the below directions are for 8!
(Recipe from She Wears Many Hats)


Ingredients: 

Don't have stainless steel mixing bowls? GET THEM.
Must-have in the kitchen :)

• 16 ounces of mushrooms halved or quartered. I used baby 'bellas, because the brown makes it look earthier and because they're adorable.
• 2 large sweet onions, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves
• 8-10 stems + 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• **If you prefer to use dried for either spice, you can feel free to do so. The rule of thumb is one part dried to three parts fresh.... But fresh tastes better!**
• 48 ounces broth (either chicken or vegetable is fine! we used chicken)
• 3-15 ounce cans white beans NOT drained (we used cannellini)
• Salt and pepper as needed.
• Crusty bread is a MUST :)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Toss the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in the olive oil and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (*The mushrooms are going to need to be separated at a later point, so you can save yourself some hassle and keep them separate from the get-go if you want! Ex. mix the mushrooms and onions/garlic with 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper each*)
3. Spread veggies on baking sheet and add the sage and thyme. 
4. Roast in oven for 10 minutes, toss, and roast another 15 minutes.
5. While vegetables are roasting, add broth, beans, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and remaining thyme (1 tbsp) to a large stock pot. Simmer at medium heat.
6. When the vegetables are done, separate the mushrooms.
7. Put the roasted onions, garlic, and herbs to a blender. (We also scraped up the browned bits from the bottom of the roasting pan and added those as well!)
8. Add 2 cups of the beans and 1 cup of stock to the blender as well.
9. Cover the blender and blend until smooth.
10. Whisk the pureed vegetables back into the stock pot until smooth. 
11. Add the roasted mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste! 
12. Keep the heat on low until ready to serve.
13. MOST IMPORTANTLY: SERVE WITH CRUSTY BREAD :) Sops up the broth B-E-A-utifully!

I encourage you all to make this - it was a delicious, healthy, earthy dinner. Served with a little salad on the side, and I would say I stuck to my diet today!

Enjoy!!