Tuscan Kale Soup

With beans, potatoes and spicy sausage.

This is a simple rustic soup that really hits the spot. You can substitute the kale for another green, such as swiss chard, cabbage or spinach and it will cut down on the cook time. I would add the cabbage at the beginning but a short cook green at the end. If you aren't a fan of sausage, you can always replace it with noodles, quinoa or even add polenta - rain it in and stir often.

Ingredients:

1 Pkg. Spicy Italian Sausage (I used Beyond)

1 Onion, diced

1 Large Carrot, diced

2 Celery Ribs, diced

1 Cup White Wine

14 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes

8 Oz. Potatoes (two golden), diced

2 Bu. Kale, destemmed and chopped

15 Oz. Can Cannellini Beans, drained & rinsed

4 Cups Vegetable Stock

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp. Fennel Seeds

1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Pepper

Method:

Break or dice your sausage, it will depend on how firm your sausage is. I used Beyond spicy Italian, broke it up by hand a bit and then used a potato masher once it started firming up in the pan to get smaller pieces. Fry the sausage in a soup pot with a little oil. Remove from the sausage from the pot and set aside.

Next, add a little more oil and sauté onions, celery and carrots in the same pot. Sprinkle with a little salt (about 1 tsp), fresh cracked pepper, fennel and red pepper flakes. Cook until soft. Add garlic and cook one minute while stirring.

Add the cup of wine and cook down until it has just about evaporated. Scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Then, add tomatoes, potatoes, kale, stock and sausage back to the pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook covered until the kale and potatoes are tender. This will take at least an hour.

To finish, add the beans and season with salt to taste. Enjoy!