McKenna's Creamy Italian White Bean Soup

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2-16 ounce cans white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1-14 ounce can chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups water or more vegetable or chicken broth
1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook the onions and celery in oil until tender in a medium pot. Add garlic. Stir in beans, broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water or additional broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside. In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape, but be careful not to burn yourself!!). Once blended pour soup back into pot and stir in reserved beans. Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top. This is really yummy with some good Italian bread on the side, although whole wheat is slightly healthier. I feel like I'm getting a healthy version of Olive Garden when I have this soup with a side salad! And it makes great leftovers.

Makes 4 servings.

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JMPJR0520.