White bean soup

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using, and sauté until the onion is translucent, very soft, and pale golden, about 7-9 minutes.

Add the broth and all of the beans, season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld and the broth to reduce slightly.

Line a plate with paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until a sample sage leaf sizzles immediately after its place in the oil, about 2 minutes. Add half of the sage leaves and cook, stirring once or twice, until crisp and the edges curl and turn golden-brown, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fried leaves to the paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining leaves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and reserve the sage-frying oil. Let the fried sage leave cool for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.

Once the soup has simmered, remove from the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot until smooth, adding additional broth as needed to achieve the consistency you like. (Alternatively, blend it in batches in a regular blender.) Taste and season with additional kosher salt and pepper as needed.

Divide the soup into bowls. Garnish with gremolata and a generous drizzle of the reserved sage-frying oil.