tuscan white bean, kale & sausage soup

Simplicity is the heart of Tuscan cuisine, and fresh vegetables, beans & cheeses are used in the simplest and tastiest of ways! This recipe is a good example of Tuscan cooking.

1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES | LOTS OF CHOPPING BUT EASY | SERVES 8

nutrition per serving:

460 calories, 27g protein, 41g Carbs, 22g fat, 3g sugar

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces*
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped or 1 can of diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cans of cannellini beans
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ground sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bunches of kale, tough ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped
• grated parmesan cheese (optional)
• crusty bread (optional but suggested!)

*You can also take the casings off of the sausages and use ground sausage in this soup. Your choice!

directions

1. Heat the oil in a stock pot and cook the ground sausage until no longer pink.
2. Add the onions and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes until softened.
3. Add the carrots & celery and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add all remaining ingredients except for the kale and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer on low for an hour.
7. Add the chopped kale and simmer for another 10 minutes until the kale is tender.
8. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

notes

• I use cut up pieces of sausage in this soup, but you can just use ground sausage. Either way, the porky goodness really makes the vegetables sing in this soup. My kitchen smells wonderful when I cook this up!

• The sausage itself – please use quality sausage. I would suggest using what you like, but name brand sausage has always been a good call in my kitchen.

• Make sure you cut up the kale before putting it in your soup. Do NOT use the stems of the kale bunches! Kale will add a nice texture to your soup if you let it cook a bit in the soup. And use fresh kale if you can. I’ve used bagged kale from the store, and it’s alright, but the bags tend to be filled with stem pieces.

• You can always add more or less beans to this soup, depending on what you like. We are a heavy bean family, so I lean towards adding more rather than less! You can add more broth or water to the soup to keep it “soupy” enough.

• By the way, you can use turkey sausage or chicken sausage if you don’t want to go full pork. I know many people who want to avoid all the fat from pork. You use what you like. You can also use a hot or spicy kind of sausage, if that is what appeals to your tastebuds!😊