Sausage, White Bean and Kale Soup

Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup is one of my favorite soups to make. It is thick and stew-like, healthy and quite filling. It is a perfect soup to take to work for lunch and freezes really well. The soup is based off a recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine a few months back. Although I don't have exact measurements, since I kind of wing it, I will write out approximates for this soup. 

Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

4 cans of low sodium White Beans

1 bunch of Kale

10-15 Baby Bella Mushrooms, diced

1 red onion, diced

5 turkey sausages (I prefer Hot) 

4 cloves of garlic, diced

4 cups low sodium chicken stock (add more water as necessary)

1 cup whole wheat (mini) shells pasta

2 tablespoons of flour (more may be necessary)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon herbes de provence

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper (optional)

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

I usually start by prepping everything. I like to chop and dice all the things I will need for the soup. 

Then, in the pot I will use for the soup, I saute up the turkey sausage. I squeeze the sausage out of the casings, and saute up until fully cooked. I then put the sausage on a plate with a paper towel. 

 Then I add the onions and soften them in a bit of olive oil. Make sure they don't brown and saute. I usually add some pepper, a dash of sugar, and some herbes de provence (pretty much the best spice ever).

After the the onions have softened and start to become transparent, add the garlic and mushrooms. I usually turn the heat down a bit, and allow the mushrooms to sweat a bit. I usually add a bit more pepper and add a dash of smoked paprika and some cracked red pepper. 

Once the mushrooms have softened and the spices have begun to integrate, I add some flour to start a roux. Assess and add more flour as necessary. You want to make sure that everything will be coated by the flour. 

Stir in the flour and make sure that the flour is incorporated amongst the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. 

After everything looks coated with the flour, you need to add the chicken stock to start making the soup.

Add the stock until it is about half full. Let this simmer for a bit, and then add the white beans. Make sure that you drain and wash the beans before you add them into the soup.

Stir to incorporate the beans into the soup. Let this simmer for a bit. At this point, I usually taste to assess the flavors. I usually add a dash more pepper, red pepper, and some herbes. Next you need to add the turkey sausage. I usually dab it to make sure that all the oils are off the sausage. 

Stir in the sausage to incorporate into the soup. Then add in the pasta. I like to use small whole wheat pasta shells. Only add on cup of shells because they will expand a lot.

 The shells usually fall to the bottom of the pot, so make sure you stir them in.

Let this simmer for about 30 minutes. I usually let it boil, then turn it down and cover. At this point, while I allow the flavors to meld, I usually do the dishes and clean everything up in the kitchen. If you clean now, you will have less to do after you eat. I also assess whether or not I'd like some garlic bread with dinner, and usually the answer is absolutely.

I make a quick garlic bread (I love the whole wheat baguette from Trader Joe's) by slicing it up, add a bit of olive oil, some minced garlic (fresh), black pepper, and cheese. Throw it in the broiler for a few minutes, but make sure you check it pretty often, so you don't burn it.

After about a half hour or so, check the flavors and stir. Get the kale ready and turn off the heat. Add the kale to the soup and remove from the heat.

Stir in the kale, I usually have to do this in about 4 stages. The kale will soften and take up less room. Don't try to add it all at once. And voila, you are done with a delicious soup. I dish up a bowl, eat and enjoy. 

You will have a bunch of leftovers. Once the soup cools, I dish it up into the 2 cup ziploc screw top containers and freeze. They freeze really well and make a delicious lunch. Enjoy!