Sausage, Kale & White Bean Soup–one of my soup staples for 2 reasons: it's super quick and easy to make and it's filling and deeply satisfying in the way only warm white beans, silky kale and spicy sausage can be!
Ingredients
1 lb dried white beans Navy, Cannellini or Great Northern
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 quarts filtered water or more chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
1 lb smoked sausage such as kielbasa, sliced into quarter inch round pieces
8 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 lb kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped (I use the flat kale called Lacinto or Dinosaur kale)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a large pot cover beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, 1 hour. Drain beans in a colander and rinse. Alternatively, you could soak beans overnight in water.
While the beans are soaking, melt butter in a large Dutch oven and cook onions in butter over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add soaked beans once they've been rinsed, broth, 1 quart water, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and rosemary and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 45 minutes.
Brown sausage while the soup is cooking. Use a heavy skillet and brown in 2 batches. Transfer sausage to paper towels to drain.
Stir carrots and celery into soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped kale, sausage, and remaining quart water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Serve with the parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.
Recipe by Kate Battistelli at https://katebattistelli.com/food/gluten-free-food/sausage-kale-white-bean-soup/