Italian Sausage, Bean and Kale Soup
Several years ago a good friend shared a simplified version of this recipe with me. I changed it quite a bit to include Italian Sausage, onions and mushrooms. It's amazing how much flavor you can achieve in a soup that comes together in under an hour.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 pounds ground Italian Sausage
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms finely diced
- 2 14 ounce cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 6 cups kale leaves trimmed, rinsed and chopped
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- to taste salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In large stock pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat
- Add red pepper flakes and Italian Sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with wooden spoon. Cook 8-10 minutes
- Remove cooked sausage from pot. Leave behind any fat that has rendered.
- Add onions and garlic to pot. Saute for 5 minutes
- Add mushrooms to pot. Saute for additional 5 minutes.
- Return cooked sausage back to pot.
- Add beans, chicken broth and kale. Stir to combine.
- Bring to boil. cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes to one hour.
- Stir in one cup of parmesan cheese
- Taste soup and then add salt and pepper to your liking. Simmer for a few more minutes.
- To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Top with parmesan shavings.
Notes
If you don't like spice, omit the red pepper flakes. You can also use spicy Italian sausage instead. The day I went shopping they were out...so I improvised by adding the red pepper flakes to get the amount of heat that I like. You could also use Italian sausage links. However I like the convenience of ground sausage...no slicing required. You can also omit the sausage entirely and end up with a lovely bean and kale soup. If I can find it, I will often use Escarole as my green. I just learned that Escarole is in the endive family. Who knew? But today I used pre-washed, trimmed and chopped kale leaves that my store always carries in a large bag. It's so tender and flavorful I use it in fresh salads.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!