Weekly Dish

I am probably in grave danger of being called in by the veggie police for blasphemy. After all they do for me–feed my body the nutrients it needs, liven up my salads, play a second fiddle to the main courses–and all I do is talk about how I need to dress them up in order to eat them. Why do I feel this way about vegetables? Well, I’ve been giving that some thought. I really don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve had bad experiences with canned or frozen ones that scarred me. Maybe I’m just not familiar enough with how to prepare them in a way that makes them taste good instead of bad to me. Whatever the reason, I’m trying to conquer my dislike of vegetables, one recipe at a time, so when I saw this soup recipe over at The Gracious Bowl, I knew I had to give it a try.

If you like soup and you haven’t visited Adrienne and Margaret’s blog, you should check it out. I have long been a fan of the comforting and nourishing powers of soup, so I check their site often for new ideas and recipes. They posted this recipe last week, and I immediately wanted to try it. We love Italian sausage, and since David loves beans of all sorts (and I, sadly, do not), I’m always trying to think of new ways to fix them where we might both be happy. This soup really did the trick. It is thick and hearty and utterly satisfying. The sausage and beans give it enough substance to make it filling, and the loads of vegetables makes it extra good for you. I simplified the original recipe just a tad–I eliminated the bacon and cooked the sausage, onions, garlic, and carrots all together before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also, Margaret included the rinds of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, which sounds like a lovely addition–I just didn’t have any. The recipe was also perfect for my new schedule–I threw everything together in the morning before class, and then David put it on to simmer a couple of hours before I got home.

Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup from The Gracious Bowl

1/2 pound white beans
3/4 pound Italian sausage (I like it hot), casings removed
2 small yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used the roasted garlic flavor)
3 cups chicken stock or broth
3 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed
A few sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
Parmesan cheese
Soak beans in water overnight; rinse and drain. Break the sausage into chunks into a large stockpot. Brown with the garlic, onions, and carrots over medium heat until the sausage is browned and the vegetables soft and tender, about 20 minutes. Season well at this point with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, broth, and beans and simmer for 2 hours. Adjust seasonings. Stir in the spinach leaves and rosemary just before serving. Serve with a liberal grating of Parmesan cheese. Delicious!

Posted: Thursday, January 19th, 2006 at 1:17 pm Filed under: Main Dish, Vegetables, Soup, Comfort Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.