White bean soup with roasted garlic and rosemary

This robust main-course soup is flavored with slow-roasted garlic and fragrant rosemary, topped with grated Parmesan. Serve it with a loaf of crusty bread and your meal is complete.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
paste from 1 bulb roasted garlic, about 2 tablespoons (see note)
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
2 cans Bush’s great northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary or 3 teaspoons dry, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery, and sauté until onions are translucent, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in roasted garlic. Add bread crumbs, beans and vegetable broth and simmer for about 15 minutes to let flavors combine. Stir in rosemary and Parmesan. Taste, season with more salt and pepper if desired, and serve. Garnish with more Parmesan. Makes 6½ cups.

Note: to roast garlic
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove as much of the papery skins from the garlic bulb and slice the top off the cloves. Place in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 1 – 1½ hours until the garlic cloves have mellowed into a paste and can be easily squeezed from their skins.