White bean and spinach soup

Soup is the perfect comfort food. Now that it is officially fall chances are good that I'll be making it at least once a week. This soup comes together relatively quickly and tastes delicious. The best part is that it is nice and creamy without actually having any cream in it. I've made this soup a lot and I've substituted kale for the spinach before and it turns out well, you just have to cook the kale a little longer.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion (or 1/4 large), chopped

1 large (or 2 small) cloves garlic, minced

1 can of white beans, drained

1 cup veggie stock (or a cup of water with a bouillon cube dissolved)

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

dash of cayenne pepper

a few good cracks of black pepper

1 large handful of spinach leaves, cut into ribbons

shaved parmesan cheese

balsamic vinegar

lemon oil 

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook onions and garlic until they are soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the beans and the stock, then sprinkle in the rosemary, cayenne, and black pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat until beans are soft, approximately 10 minutes. Pull out about 1/3 cup of the beans, then puree the remainder. Add the beans back in and continue to simmer for a few more minutes. Add the spinach to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until it has wilted. Transfer to bowls and top with shaved parmesan slices, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, a few drops of lemon oil, and a good crack of black pepper.