This easy soup looks and tastes like it could be served in a restaurant. I love the creamy base, which you get not from cream, but from pureeing some of the beans. It’s a trick I didn’t know before, and I love it because it keeps the calories and fat content low.

The recipe came from Dallas chef David Holben and was served at his former restaurant, Mediterraneo. I clipped it years ago from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The original recipe called for cooking bacon, then using the bacon fat to cook the onions. I omitted the bacon and replaced the fat with olive oil.

Makes 4 servings

Olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 15-oz. cans white (Great Northern) beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
1 heaping tsp. dried thyme
1 heaping tsp. dried rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.

Add beans, sugar, garlic, stock, and herbs. Simmer 20 minutes or so, checking to make sure the beans don’t get too soft. (You may also have to simmer longer.)

With a slotted spoon or ladle, remove half the beans and place in a food processor or blender, then puree. You can also place the beans in a bowl and puree with an immersion blender. Stir the puree back into soup and add salt and pepper to taste.