Bean soup too beany.

July 1, 2024 10:31 AM

I got a hankering for bean soup despite it being July. So I

purchased a sack of dried soup bean mix. Put half the bag in my slow cooker with two beef bullion cubes and water.. It cooked on low overnight. It was done, beans were soft. I tasted it and it really was overwhelmingly beany tasting. Too strong. So I added 4 strips of cooked bacon cut up, and half a russet potato cut up. And cooked until potatoes were soft. It definitely improved it, but I think I can add more ingredients to make it more like a vegetable bean soup. I don't like kale. Broccoli seems odd to add.Carrots could help. And maybe diced chicken breast. Do you have any suggestions to add to my soup? Maybe not chicken, but beef so it's more like a vegetable beef bean soup, where the beans aren't the leading character...

posted by Czjewel to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Squirt of lemon overtop?
Do not put broccoli unless you want fart soup, broccoli soup is VERY specific and no other soups taste better with broccoli
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:44 AM on July 1 [3 favorites]

Since it's July and all I would be curious to take some of it and run it in a blender to make a bean dip. Eat it with chips. Embrace the bean.
posted by phunniemee at 10:44 AM on July 1 [10 favorites]

Summer squash works pretty well in soup.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:46 AM on July 1 [2 favorites]

I feel like there are few soups that aren't improved by adding clam juice. YMMV.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:55 AM on July 1

In a skillet or saucepan, saute some celery, carrots, onion, and bell pepper with a lot of olive oil. Combine this with your soup. Be sure you add enough salt.
posted by fritley at 10:59 AM on July 1 [5 favorites]

I would add onion, celery, carrot and any other aromatics you like -- garlic, shallot, leek, etc. Butternut squash or summer squash -- cut the latter into larger chunks. I would also add a flavorful liquid -- the above suggested clam juice, some white wine (red if you add beef), some miso (but be careful, that might make it too salty). You say you don't like kale, but what about Swiss chard or spinach?
posted by OrangeDisk at 10:59 AM on July 1 [1 favorite]

I'd add the bacon, Swiss chard, summer squash, plus the sautéed celery, carrots, onion and pepper, olive oil, salt and pepper, as mentioned above, and then stir in a can of diced tomatoes. And maybe a handful of small pasta – orzo or ditalini. You might want some herbs and spices – oregano, bay leaf, rosemary, maybe?
posted by notquitejane at 11:23 AM on July 1 [3 favorites]

Add spicy - brown some chorizo or spicy Italian sausage. Or add hot sauce, gochgaru, whatever you have. Make sure there's some fat, and try a small bowl with some vinegar or even lemon juice, or tomatoes would add acid.
posted by theora55 at 11:32 AM on July 1

I would spoon it into a bowl and top each portion with a good amount of feta. (But not if the soup is super super hot - let it cool a bit first.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:21 PM on July 1

Response by poster: These are all wonderful ideas. I will either add a bunch of various vegetables, or puree it, not for a bean dip, which I love, but perhaps a pureed soup that I will serve in my small porcelain ramekins, with a dollop of sour cream and some saltines .
posted by Czjewel at 12:43 PM on July 1

I usually add onion and tomato at least to bean soups and stews. Herbs are also good -- I think that marjoram is particularly good with legumes, but also add rosemary, thyme and parsley. I put bay leaves in everything. I also recommend pre-frying onion and other aromatics.

For future reference, if you're going to be cooking beans in a slow cooker, it's highly advisable to precook them at a high temperature for at least ten minutes, and preferably 30 minutes. This denatures the phytohaemagglutinin, a protein found in beans which is toxic at high levels.

It's particularly dangerous to undercook red kidney beans, which have the highest concentration (lethal poisoning is uncommon, but you can experience gastric distress so severe that it requires hospitalisation). In my country I can't even buy dry red kidney beans without going to a specialist supplier -- supermarkets only sell them canned. But I wouldn't mess around with other varieties either -- white kidney beans, which I can and do buy dry, apparently typically have about a third of the concentration of PHA.

I usually presoak the beans overnight, then precook for about half an hour on the stovetop, then put them in the slow cooker with the rest of the soup / stew ingredients. I don't discard the soaking water (but I rinse the beans before soaking). I probably would discard soaking water from red kidney beans, as an additional safety precaution.
posted by confluency at 3:07 PM on July 1 [1 favorite]

Mirepoix for sure, though since you are adding it to already well cooked soup I would suggest sautéing them first to get a little color and then putting just enough water to cover, adding additional seasonings, and simmering with a lid on until it’s quite softened, then mixing it into your beany soup. The carrots and onions will add sweetness, and the celery will add herbaceousness, all of which will round out the earthy flavor of the beans.

I think also some smoked paprika will make it harmonious with the bacon and potato you added, and a splash of lemon or white wine or maybe a blonde ale will bring in some brightness with the acidity. Since you added bacon you might already have a good amount of fat, but you might add a swirl of olive oil or another fat to help round out the flavor and help with the texture of the broth.

Broccoli makes soups weird, do not add broccoli unless you are making broccoli soup.
posted by Mizu at 12:32 AM on July 2

This batch is probably not salvageable, next time sautee mirepoix in olive oil beforehand and then add to the soup mix. Salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf, maybe even rosemary and oregano. A tablespoon of tomato paste. At the end heaping teaspoon of sweet paprika and some freshly ground nutmeg.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:20 AM on July 2 [1 favorite]