Cook This: White bean and tomato soup with pesto croutons

Our recipe arsenals all need a soup that uses just a few simple pantry ingredients and comes together in minutes. During the brief simmer, you can blend up a batch of pesto and toast some baguette slices for the gigantic crotons that will turn these brothy beans and tomatoes into gourmet fare.

I’m very partial to Strianese brand butter beans, the ones in the yellow can, both for their creaminess and delicate skins — so they’re worth trying to track down. For the pesto, you can forgo the kale and just double the basil leaves if you’d like, although I appreciate the verdancy (and extra nutrition) kale affords.

White Bean and Tomato Soup with Pesto Croutons

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the croutons

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup red wine

32-ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1½ cups seasoned vegetable broth

Two 14-ounce cans butter beans or cannellini beans, drained

1 baguette, thinly sliced

For the pesto:

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves

2 cups loosely packed kale leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup pine nuts

DIRECTIONS

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the red onion and sauté for 7 to 10 minutes or until the onions are very soft and beginning to caramelize.

Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan before adding the canned tomatoes and their juice and the vegetable broth. Raise the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the white beans, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for another 5 minutes to thicken. Adjust consistency to your liking, adding more broth, if necessary.

Meanwhile, make the pesto by blending all the ingredients in a food processor to a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Brush the baguette slices with a little olive oil, then toast them in a toaster oven or under the broiler until lightly golden on both sides. Top each baguette slice with a generous dollop of pesto. Ladle the soup into bowls and nestle a couple of the pesto baguette slices into the soup. Serve immediately with fresh cracked pepper.

Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.