We all know greens like kale, mustard, chard, and escarole are super healthy and something we really should add to our diets. But how? Other than sautéing with garlic and oil, what can we do with them?

Italian comfort food!  Easy, healthy, homey, delicious.  We make this all the time.  It’s a wonderful blend of healthy greens, spicy Italian sausage and white beans. An ideal and tasty  way to get lots of greens into your diet and on the plus side, it’s loaded with protein, fiber and vitamins. Healthy and delicious! And it’s a delicious gluten free meal if you either don’t use pasta or use a gluten free one.

All you need is Italian sausage, (I use organic chicken sausage) greens and beans of your choice, some garlic, onion and chicken broth.  This is the perfect Sunday night supper.  Delicious over pasta or served with some crusty Italian bread and maybe a nice tomato salad. Enjoy!

Seriously good and best of all, easy!

Italian Sausage with Beans and Greens

• 4 tablespoons coconut or grape seed oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound Italian chicken sausage, mild or hot or a combination
• 1 pound greens like mustard, escarole, kale or swiss chard, roughly chopped
• 2 cans cannellini beans or beans of your choice
• 1 cup organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Serves 4

1. Cut each sausage in half and then chop into chunks.  Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the sausage.
2. Remove sausage from pan when browned.
3. Now, add the onion and garlic to the pan you used to cook the sausage and saute for several minutes until the onions have begun to soften.
4. Add the rinsed and drained beans to the onions and garlic.
5. Add greens and the chicken broth to the beans and garlic.  Simmer for about 3 minutes. The greens will wilt and come down in volume.
6. Add the cooked sausage to the greens and beans and cook for a couple more minutes.
7. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

Kate’s Tips

• This is delicious served over pasta.
• I really like the mustard greens but it’s also great with escarole or swiss chard, even kale will work.
• I usually use white cannellini beans with this but you could use any kind you like.  I’ve also made it with black beans.
• Mustard greens tend to be quite bitter.  If using, boil them for a couple of minutes to get rid of a lot of the bitterness.
• No need to boil the escarole or swiss chard if you use them as they are sweeter greens than the mustard.

 What’s your favorite Sunday night supper?