White Bean, Fennel, and Leek Soup

Recipe Note

Parmigiano rinds add great savoriness and depth of flavor. Keep leftover rinds from parmigiano or grana cheese in your freezer to add to soups and stews.

Use a small white bean like cannellini or great northern. For 6 cups cooked beans, you'll want about 4 15oz cans of beans. Drain and rinse beans before adding.

If you like to cook beans from dried, you can either use a pound of cooked white beans of your choice (drained), or...start fennel and leeks as per recipe instructions, but instead of adding cooked beans and 2 1/2 cups water with parmigiano rind and thyme- add 1 pound dried beans and an additional 2 quarts of water and 1 TBS salt. Allow to simmer until beans are soft (about 2 hours if you did not presoak), and then proceed with recipe.