A Great Soup for a Snow Day

It’s snowing in St. Louis today so I just googled, “a good recipe for a snow day.” Doesn’t this white bean soup from Delish.com sound perfect? Unlike last night’s salmon rice with peas, this I may actually make!

• 1 1/4 pound(s) thick-sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
• 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil 
  
• 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely diced 
  
• 2 celery ribs, finely diced
• 4 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 teaspoon(s) chopped thyme
• 2 teaspoon(s) chopped rosemary
• 1 pound(s) Great Northern beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 10 cup(s) chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

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Directions

1. In a large soup pot, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain, reserving the fat and bacon separately.
2. Heat the olive oil in the soup pot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon each of the chopped thyme and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the drained beans, stock, and 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat and bring to a boil. Simmer the soup over moderately low heat until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the remaining thyme and rosemary. Season the soup with salt and pepper and transfer to shallow bowls. Garnish the soup with the bacon and serve.