Adapted by Liz Recipe from finecooking.com

This light and easy soup is a quick one to make, especially if using canned beans.  If you have dried beans and have time to cook them the day before, even better.  Lorraine and I are just a little obsessed with Rancho Gordo’s Marcella beans.  If you are lucky enough to find some, grab them.  They are a perfect white bean for winter soups!  As the season changes and the fall winds blow through, so does cold and flu season.  This is a nice soup for colds, flus, and for a little immune system boost.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, trimmed, white and light green parts sliced ¼ in thick

4 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

2 tsp dried mustard

6 cups Eatwell chicken stock

1 bunch spinach, rinsed well, trimmed and cut into ribbons

1 15.oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed (¾ cup dried white beans cooked)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Salt and fresh ground pepper

½ cup gruyere cheese, finely grated

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a 6 qt pot.  Add leeks, stirring often about 5 minutes until tender and starting to brown.Add garlic and mustard, cooking until fragrant just a minute or so.  Turn heat up and add chicken stock until it barely boils. Add washed spinach and beans to the pot. When spinach begins to wilt, turn off heat, add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve topped with cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.