In 30 minutes you have a delicious, nutritious and hearty soup for the whole family -  Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. Easy recipe, too.

Winter season is soup season indeed! Since winter is also the season when you most likely will get sick or catch a bug, I want to make sure that I feed  my family healthy and wholesome food, too. As we all know green and leafy vegetables are one of the best sources of nutrients and Kale is certainly often considered the queen (or was it king?) of greens! Naturally, since it's not exactly candy material and the bright tint of green doesn't excite my kids either - I need to devise some ways to make them eat this healthy veggie!

Thankfully, my kids will eat anything that goes with sausages!! I guess the strong and yummy taste of the sausages perhaps mask anything that they may not like. Whatever. I am just happy if they eat it. So I finally decided to make my own version of Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. I know there are many varieties of this soup online but I am glad that I made one that my family enjoyed.

What makes this version slightly different from the other recipes online is --- the wine. Well, I had some left-over white wine so why not use it? Wine makes everything tastes better, right? Here, it surely did! I also added some celery just because, a little more extra vegetables for my little ones to eat would be nice, too!

But if you don't like wine and prefer not to use it - that's perfectly fine. It can always be subbed with extra chicken broth. I just like cooking with wine when available as it truly gives any dish that extra boost in flavor! But, this is your recipe too so feel free to tweak it to your own taste! Enjoy!

Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

By: Manila Spoon
Published: 01/28/2017

In 30 minutes you have a delicious, nutritious and hearty soup for the whole family - Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. Easy recipe, too.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 lb good quality Italian Sausage, sliced
• 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 Celery stalks (just over half the usual size), sliced
• 1 cup dry White Wine (may be subbed with extra Chicken broth)
• 32 oz Low Sodium Chicken Broth (plus 1 cup Water, if needed)
• 1 can White Beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 bunch fresh Kale, washed, big stems removed then leaves cut or shredded up into pieces
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan (or your favorite cheese) for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a oven-proof casserole pot, like a Dutch oven. Fry the sausages in the oil until nicely browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.
2. In the remaining oil, saute the garlic and onion for 3-4 minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Add the celery and cook for another couple of minutes.
3. Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan. Raise the heat a little and reduce the wine to about half. Return the sausages to the pan.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and add the drained beans and chopped fresh kale. Give a quick stir, cover and then simmer on low for 10-15 minutes or until the kale leaves are nicely tender. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. You may add some water if you wish to dilute the soup a little. Serve immediately. Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top, if desired. My family loves to have this with rice but a good crusty bread would pair perfectly, too!

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.
Total time: 45 mins.
Tags: Food, Recipe, Soup, Winter, Kale, Sausage. Beans, Italian, Healthy