Snowed In -- Soup and Sandwich

D and I were snowed in today -- I had no class, and he didn't go into work. What could be more satisfying on a cold snowy day than a warm bowl of soup and a nice hot sandwich? I decided to try a new recipe, courtesy of SeriousEats.com, and also make some chicken melt sandwiches.


The soup is a White Bean and Tarragon Soup, and it is as delicious and luxurious as it sounds. It's quite a simple recipe, with the tarragon being the only remotely "special" ingredient. Tarragon I had never used in cooking before, so I wasn't too familiar with the taste of this particular herb. However, I found it to be very pleasing to the palate with a gentle anise/fennel/licorice flavor.


You'll see that the recipe calls for 2 Tbsp of butter. I rarely use butter when cooking, but this time I decided to go for it! It was very well worth it, as expected. The flavor of butter is rich and smooth, and just 2 Tbsp is not enough to make me feel that guilty!


I am a big fan of any beans, and white beans are my favorite choice for soups and stews. I find them to be more velvety than other beans, and I appreciate their smooth buttery color. They provide a lovely texture to soups, especially if they are mashed up just slightly.


As for the sandwiches, I love love love hot panini sandwiches. We ran out of tuna, but we had one big can of chicken that I thought would make a nice chicken melt sandwich. I preferred my sandwich in the traditional panini style -- two pieces of bread, grill marks on both sides. D preferred his to be open-faced -- one piece of bread, with the cheese melted in the broiler. I simply mixed the chicken with some low-fat mayo, salt, and pepper, and used aged white cheddar cheese. I added some baby arugula to my sandwich as well.


The soup turned out beautifully! The tarragon added much needed depth and an interesting flavor. I cannot imagine this soup without the tarragon, it would be much too boring! The scallions provided a gentle onion flavor, and the carrots cooked down to sweet and colorful orange specks. I did not have a stick blender nor a potato masher, so I just used the back of a wooden spoon to break up the beans as much as I could. This left a slightly thickened soup that still retained some whole beans. I garnished with just a drizzle of olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, and a bit of fresh tarragon. It was the perfect accompaniment to the sandwiches!


White Bean and Tarragon Soup

3 14-oz cans of white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 scallions, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

1. In a large soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the scallions and cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.
2. Add the beans and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then add the bay leaves and half the tarragon leaves. Drop the heat to low to allow the soup to simmer, about 20 minutes. Blend/mash/food mill/stick blender the soup to the desired consistency.
3. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a bit of tarragon, and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!