Beans in soup question

M

mboley

Well-known member
Hi all! I've been trying to make a white chicken chili to copy the recipe of a restaraunt from our former town. However, I seem to get the occasional "casings" from the beans in my soup. The soup tastes good, but the having those bits in there causes the texture to leave a bit to be desired! Is this because of the kind of bean I use? Is it because I used canned? do I ned to let it cook all day? What am I doing wrong!?

Is there a way to get a soup using white beans, that will have the beans being very creamy, but not have any "bits" of the outside of the beans? Do I need to start from scratch with dried beans? I think I used cannelini beans... are those not a good idea?

I've pureed 1/2 of the beans... which gives the soup a great consistency...but I still want some actual whole beans in there!

I can post recipe if anyone is interested... and can solve my bean delimma smileys/smile.gif

HELP!

Melissa

 
I made a recipe with dried cannelini beans yesterday, some of the skins came loose. I don't have

the problem with pinto beans. I don't know if it's common with white beans or perhaps it's a sign they've been around awhile. Perhaps someone can enlighten us.

 
I find some skins always come loose with kidney beans, great northerns, cannelini. I just

skim them off the surface before draining the cooked beans. Even canned ones can have loose skins, and I've been known to sort through them one by one. Not sure if it's preventable (the skins, I mean, not my obsessiveness).

 
I like to brine my beans first, the CI method, before cooking.

I find that it really makes a difference, the beans are so tender and creamy but don't fall apart and burst (leaving skins) like when they did when I just soaked them in plain water or did the fast soak method.

Just fill a big pot with water, add the beans and about 3T salt. Stir and soak overnight or 6 hrs. Drain and cook per your directions.

Hope this helps you!

 
Rec: White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili

1 lg onion, diced small
1 T oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 4 oz cans chopped green chili's (I use 2)
2 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground cloves
28 oz chicken broth
4 c cooked chicken diced
3 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed (or cannelini beans)
salt and pepper to taste

In large pan, saute onions until tender. Add garlic, saute 30 sec. Add chilis, cumin, oregeno, cayenne and cloves. Stir and cook 2 - 3 min more. Add broth, chicken and beans; simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Notes - I usually puree 2 cans of beans in the blender with 1/2 cup chicken broth, then just add the last can of beans whole. And I simmer till ready to eat.

Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, or a dollop of salsa.

 
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