Bean soaking method: Cook's Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking. Stewy Beans adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (In the book, the recipe is called "White Bean Soup with Garlic and Parlsey") Serves 2 This is a half recipe, so if you wish to make more, double the quantities keeping the cup of water/stock the same. Marcella adds parsley (no sage) to her beans, so if that sounds nice, go for it — she adds the parsley at the very end. She also purées a half cup of the beans through a food mill. I find this step unnecessary because the beans break down on their own.