Bean Float

The Soup Issue of Food & Nutrition Magazine is "stocked" full of delicious recipes for this cold and sometimes dreary season.  This Sausage and White Bean Soup is the 3rd recipe I've tried (all have been delicious) and there are at least 2 more I will make. To cook the beans from the dry state, I soaked them overnight in water, cooked the beans for 1 1/2 hours this morning, then made the soup with very little effort after arriving home this evening.  A few tips to cook dry beans from scratch include using 2-3 times the volume of water to beans and to drain and rinse the beans with each step.  Refrigerate the beans after cooking.

Sausage and White Bean Soup

(2 servings)

Soak beans overnight in twice the amount of water.
1/2 cup navy beans, dry
Drain and rinse.
Add water to the beans in a pan, in a ratio of 2-3 times the volume of beans.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Drain, rinse and refrigerate until it's time to make the soup.
 
Saute shallots and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon olive oil

Remove casing from sausage link and crumble into pan.
1-4 ounce Italian sausage link
Brown for 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes, pepper, thyme, oregano and bay leaf to pan.
4 Romano tomatoes, cubed
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3 sprigs oregano
1 bay leaf

Stir in chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Stir in greens and cooked beans.
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach and greens 

Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

I purchase most of my meat from Working H Farms Stare where they raise and butcher their own animals.

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