Sausage, Kale, and Bean Soup

Doug bought a bunch of kale, and wanted me to find a way to use it. We also had several frozen sausages, so I decided we would have Sausage, Kale, and Bean Soup. My mom's visiting, so I put her to work dicing the veggies!


 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, cut into small dice
  (I used a Vidalia)
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1 bell pepper, cut into a small dice
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
  (about 4 links of the Costco brand)
• 2 cans beans, rinsed
  (I used 1 can black beans, 1 can chick peas, about 16 ounces each)
• 1 can corn
  (~ 16 ounces)
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 16 ounces of water
• 1 teaspoon rosemary, minced finely
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 bunch of kale (about 8 ounces) - stems remove, and sliced into ribbons 

Instructions:

1. Add the olive oil to a heavy stock pot, and start sautéing the sausage.
   (If the sausage is frozen, microwave for a few minutes to thaw.)
2. Add the carrots, onions, and bell peppers, and cook them for about 5 minutes until them onions soften.
3. After the sausage is cooked, remove from pot, and cut into small pieces. Return to sausage pieces to the pot.
4. Add the chicken stock and water, as well as the rosemary and pepper. 
5. Bring to a boil, them reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes or so.
6. Add the kale, and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Carole's Notes:

We all liked this! It was an easy way to eat kale - it blended in easily into the soup.
If I had white beans, I would have used them, but use what you have - it's soup!

The recipe is adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013327-herbed-white-bean-and-sausage-stew and
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/mediterranean-kale-white-bean-soup-with-sausage