Kale, Sausage, and White Bean Soup

A weekend of overindulging combined with the first chilly fall day inspired this soup. We had some sausage on hand and I wanted to eat some kale. This is super tasty and warming - great with some crust bread and butter. Feel free to scale down, this makes A LOT. (Lots of future lunches...)

Ingredients:

3 links sweet Italian sausage

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly slices

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 large bunch kale, rinsed, stemmed, and chopped

A bunch fresh thyme, tied with string

16 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken broth

8 cups water

1 tsp spy sauce

1 tsp balsamic

Red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper 

Pecorino for serving

Directions:

Brown the sausage over medium heat with a little olive oil then add some water until just barely cooked through. 

Slice the sausage into half moons. 

In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat olive oil over medium high. Add onion, shallot, and garlic and season lightly with salt. Sauté until they are soft and just barely starting to brown. 

Add broth and water and some salt and bring to a boil. Toss in kale and thyme. 

Stir and cook until the kale until it cools down a bit. 

Add sausage, beans, and tea pepper flakes to taste (I used about 2 tsp). 

Stir them in and season with salt and pepper. Add soy sauce and vinegar and simmer until beans and sausage are warmed through.

Ladle into bowls. Top with some freshly grated pecorino and pepper.