SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH FENNEL AND SPINACH

SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH FENNEL AND SPINACH image

Yield 8 servings bowls

Number Of Ingredients 20

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Ingredients

4-6 cups chicken broth (I like to use Kitchen Basics)
2 15 ounce cans of cannelli beans (or any white bean),drained and rinsed
6 garlic cloves,3 minced, 3 smashed (for bean pot)
1 teaspoon rosemary fresh or dried
1 bay leaf
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 fennel bulb (no stalks) diced
1 generous teaspoon of vegetable or chicken concentrate (Better Than Broth or bouillon cube)
1 pound of sweet sausage without the casing or skin, crumbled into small pieces
1 generous teaspoon of red chile flakes
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons of tomato paste. (Freeze leftover in plastic zip bag.)
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
10 ounces of baby spinach thinly sliced
Preheat oven 325 degrees and set the oven rack in the middle. Have a dutch oven ready on the side, or a oven safe stock pot with lid. I use a clay dutch oven.
*If using canned beans see note at bottom

Steps:

If you have soaked beans over night, drain the pot and refill with cold water, 2 inches above beans. Bring the pot to a simmer and skim off any foam that bubbles to top. Turn down heat to a low simmer and add bay leaf, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 cup of chicken stock, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 2 sprigs of thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. It should simmer on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally so that beans will not stick to bottom. Add more stock if needed. In a saute pan, heat oil and saute the onions, carrots, celery, and fennel until are soft about ten minutes. Careful not to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the vegetables to the bean pot and stir. If you have a stick blender, carefully immerse into the pot, and blend by pulsing 6-7 times. You don't want it completely blended, only by half. If you don't have a stick blender, use a regular blender. Carefully place 1/2 bean vegetable mix into blender and pulse. In a skillet sauté sausage with red chile peppers, breaking it into little pieces, until lightly browned. Add the wine and 2 remaining tablespoons tomato paste and vegetable concentrate or bullion . Simmer until reduced and thickened. Add all the bean and vegetable mix into the dutch oven, along with the sausage and parsley. Adjust taste for salt and fresh pepper. Cover and bake for 2 hours on 325. Remove lid, and swirl in spinach. Cool 5 minutes before serving. *If using canned beans, drain and rinse with cold water. Place in pot with 1 cup of cold water). Bring to a low simmer and add bay leaf, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 cup of chicken stock, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 2 sprigs of thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (omit if beans are not low sodium). Simmer low for only 5-10 minutes. Set aside and proceed with the recipe.