6 cups cooked cannellini or other white beans—either canned or cooked from 2 cups dried (recommended)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup homemade broth or water (or 1 1 cup veggie stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Thick grilled or toasted slices of crusty bread (optional)
Put the oil and chopped garlic in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the garlic, stirring it, until is becomes colored a very pale gold.
Add the drained cooked or canned beans, a pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 5 to 6 minutes.
Take about 1/2 cup of beans from the pot and puree them through a food mill back into the pot, together with all the broth. Alternately, use a blender, loosening with a bit of the broth. Simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes, taste, and correct for salt and pepper. Swirl in the chopped parsley, and turn off the heat.
Ladle over the grilled bread slices into individual soup bowls. Serves 4 to 6
