Gordon Ramsay’s white bean soup is a silky, velvety purée of haricot beans finished with double cream and cold butter, topped with sautéed tiger prawns and chives. He calls it terre et mer: land and sea in one bowl. It serves 4 and the beans need soaking overnight.
This is his Haricot Soup with Tiger Prawns from Sunday Lunch. The bean purée is the foundation and the prawns are the finishing touch, which means the soup works just as well without them if you want a simpler version. Ramsay writes: “Pureed haricot beans provide a velvety background to tiger prawns. We use chicken stock as the base, as fish stock would overpower the delicate flavour of the beans.”
The technique that makes this different from any other bean soup is whisking cold butter into the hot purée at the end. It froths up and gives the soup a light, airy body that a plain purée doesn’t have. Same principle he uses in the pumpkin soup with the butter blending trick.
Gordon Ramsay White Bean Soup
Course: Soup, Starter4
15
minutes2
hours420
kcal135
minutesEasy
Haricot soup with tiger prawns from Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch. Dried haricot beans simmered until soft, blended to a velvety purée, finished with chicken stock, double cream and cold butter whisked in to froth it up. Sautéed tiger prawns and chives piled into the centre. Serves 4.
Ingredients
250g (9 oz) dried haricot beans, soaked overnight
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 carrot, peeled and halved
1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf and parsley tied together)
300ml (1¼ cups) chicken or vegetable stock
150ml (⅔ cup) double cream
30g (1 oz) cold butter, cut into cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 tiger prawns, peeled and deveined
Few knobs of butter, for frying
Handful of chives, finely chopped
Olive oil, to drizzle
Directions
- Cook the beans: Drain the soaked haricot beans and place in a saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and bouquet garni and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and boil steadily for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to a simmer. Partially cover and cook for 1½ to 2 hours until completely soft, topping up with boiling water if they look dry.
- Make the purée: Drain the beans and discard the onion, carrot and bouquet garni. Scoop out about 4 tablespoons of whole beans and set aside for garnish. Blend the rest to a smooth purée, adding a touch of boiling water if needed. For a really smooth soup, push through a fine sieve.
- Build the soup: Pour the bean purée into a pan and reheat gently. Whisk in the stock and cream, season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the cold butter a piece at a time, using a stick blender if you like, to froth up the soup.
- Cook the prawns: Sauté the prawns and reserved whole beans in a few knobs of butter until the prawns are just pink and cooked through. Season well, add the chives and toss together.
- Serve: Pile the prawns and beans into the centre of warm bowls. Pour the soup around them. Drizzle with olive oil.
FAQs
Can you make this without the prawns?
Yes. The bean purée is a complete soup on its own. Skip the prawns, top with a drizzle of good olive oil, the reserved whole beans and some chopped chives. It becomes a simple, velvety white bean soup that costs about £2 for four bowls.
Ramsay designed the prawns as a “terre et mer” element, but the book positions the purée as the star and the prawns as the finishing touch, not the other way around.
Why chicken stock instead of fish stock?
Ramsay is specific about this: “fish stock would overpower the distinctive but delicate flavour of the beans.” The beans have a subtle, earthy sweetness that gets lost under a strong fish stock. Chicken stock supports without competing.
Why whisk cold butter into the soup?
Cold butter emulsifies into the hot purée and creates tiny air pockets as you whisk. That’s what transforms it from a heavy bean paste into a light, frothy soup. Ramsay suggests using a stick blender to “froth up the soup” for an even lighter texture.
A 30g knob of cold butter is the difference between a soup that sits heavy and one that feels silky.
Do you have to use dried beans?
Dried haricot beans give the best flavour because the cooking liquid concentrates as they simmer for 2 hours. Tinned cannellini beans work if you’re short on time. Drain and rinse two 400g tins, blend with stock and cream, and you’ll have soup in 15 minutes.
Haricot beans and cannellini beans are the same family. In UK supermarkets, tinned cannellini are easier to find than tinned haricots.
What does Ramsay serve this with?
In Sunday Lunch this is the starter before chicken breast with morel velouté and apple pudding for dessert. It’s a dinner party soup, not a weeknight meal. For a special meal, follow it with a duck breast as the main. A light orzo salad would work as a side if you’re serving it for lunch instead.
