Sausage & Bean Soup

I've made variations of this soup over the years; I typically use lentils but a friend mentioned Cannellini beans (white kidney beans) one day, so I immediately decided to give them a shot. Yes, I am just that suggestible. I only wish I was kidding. Also, any reason for beans AND sausage!

You will need:

2 tsp oil (not EVOO ever for cooking!)
1 lb hot Italian turkey sausages, (or mild, should you be a baby. or be feeding a baby)
1/4 tsp chili flakes (see above note re: feeding babies); optional
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, about 1 1/2 c
2 stalks celery
1 c carrots, about 2 medium
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp tomato paste
900 ml chicken stock - I am using no-salt-added
1 540 ml can Cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans)
5 c kale (about a small bunch
Salt, pepper, 1 tsp thyme
2 c water

First, prep! Should you have sausages that have a casing, remove it. Otherwise, it's easier to cook them whole and slice up after. Dice your celery, chop your carrots, mince your garlic. To prep your leeks, first you want to slice off the dark green tops (save for stock!) and cut the white and light green parts into 3 inch chunks, about like zo:

Slice them lengthwise and rinse the layers under running water. You would not believe the crud that gets in there. King Crud of Crudtown has set up shop there, you need to wash that crud right out of your food. Crud.dy.

Cut each half lengthwise three to four times, depending on width, and dice finely.

People always ask why leeks instead of onions (okay, my mom always asks); I just like the different nuances of flavour that leeks have. Milder, but warmer. Man, I sound like a food hippie. Namaste, betches! Cut your kale into ribbons; I find the easiest way to get the spine off the leaves is to run a paring knife along the hardest part.

Prep all done!

Now we begin: heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, add in the sausages, breaking apart into bite-sized chunks as you go. Unless you have the casing-less sausages, then cook them whole and slice after, reserving juices. I suggest using a flat-edged wooden spoon, but then of course I do. I love them. This is when you could add in the chili flakes, should you want to spice things up.

When the sausages are all browned, remove and set aside somewhere relatively warm. Add the leeks, carrots and celery into the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned sausage bits. Drool. After about 5 minutes, when they feel pretty much softened, add in the garlic and cook for one more minute. Just one!

Stir in the 2 Tbsp tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cook until it darkens and starts to stick to the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Ish.

Dump in the chicken stock, using your flat-edged spoon to scrape any brown stuff off the sides. Oh yes, we want ALLS the fond and flavour in our pot.

Add in the rinsed Cannellini beans, sausages, kale and 1tsp thyme. I read somewhere that the beans won't break down if there is too much salt, I hold off on adding any more s&p until the end. If it seems as though there isn't enough liquid, add up to 2 cups of water, until all is covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Check about halfway through, see how the flavour is developing and if the beans are starting to soften. After 20 minutes, add salt and pepper, check your beans. Should be lovely.

This breaks down into 6 big servings, at 262 calories each, which is toadilly awesome. You could add some bread, a glass of milk and be right at or under the recommended 400 - 500 calorie per meal guideline.

Enjoy!