RUSTIC ITALIAN SAUSAGE, SPINACH & WHITE BEAN SOUP
We love soup! Especially during the long cold winter months here in Canada.
This flavourful and hearty soup is loaded with Italian sausage, garlic, spinach, and an abundance of soft cannellini (white kidney) beans. It is also super easy to make and freezes exceptionally well.
You can leave out the parmigiana cheese to make this soup a dairy and gluten free soup too.
Served alongside a loaf of rustic chewy bread, this soup is both filling, and deliciously satisfying.
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 (14 fluid ounce) cans white kidney or cannellini beans, drained
4 cups chicken broth
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach (approx 150 gram) spinach or 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach (chopped kale works too!)
1/4 tsp red chili flakes (more if you like spice)
1/8 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded parmigiana cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, sauté the sausage meat for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Keep about 2-3 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the red chili flakes and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the beans, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and parmigiana cheese. Stir well.
Remove the pot from the stove and using an immersion blender, purée the soup just a bit. This adds a creaminess and natural thickening to the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, ladle 2 cups of the soup into a blender and blend on low until almost puréed. Or you can use a potato masher and mash away until the soup is the consistency you like. (Be sure to keep a lot of the beans while for texture.) Pour the puréed soup back into the pot.
Add the cooked sausage back to the pot and turn the heat to medium high. When the soup begins to boil, partially cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
Stir in the spinach and adjust the seasoning to your taste preference with salt & pepper. Serve and enjoy.
