Leek and Cannellini Bean Soup

Directions

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a soup pot.
2. Add onion and allow to sweat for 3 minutes on medium heat.
3. Next, add in carrots and frozen leeks and saute for 5-6 minutes.
4. Once leeks look like they have thawed, add a pinch of salt to flavor the vegetables.
5. Add in zucchini and water.
6. Allow everything to come to a light boil. Place a lid on your pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add in 1/3 cup of the cannellini beans (please see Notes).
8. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes with lid on.
9. Transfer everything into a blender along with the parsley, pesto and Laughing Cow cheese.
10. Blend until smooth (I used my Vitamix and blended for 3 minutes on high).
11. Transfer back to soup pot.
12. Roughly chop the remainder of the cannellini beans and add to the soup (please see Notes).
13. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste.
14. When serving, pour soup into bowl and garnish as shown in the picture either with minced zucchini and/or zucchini ribbons.
15. *Zucchini Note: Roughly chop 3/4 of the zucchini to put into the soup pot to boil with the other vegetables. With the remainder 1/4 zucchini, mince or ribbon for garnish (you can use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons - but make sure you are careful! It is easy to cut yourself doing this!) **Cannellini Beans Note: If you like a complete smooth texture for your soup, add all of the cannellini beans to the soup pot. However, if you would like to create a little bit of texture in your soup, you can add 1/3 cup of the beans to the soup pot and take the remainder and roughly chop them. Add the chopped cannellini beans into the soup after everything has been pureed. ***Laughing Cow Cheese Note: This adds creaminess to your soup without the fat from typical cream!