Sausage and White Bean Soup

One of the simplest but most delicious meals that I can think of is soup. There's nothing quite like it. Like most of my savory recipes, measurements are all relative to each other. If you like carrots, for example, add more carrots! Food is all about making it unique to each individual. Express yourself in the kitchen and don't worry about how precise each ingredient is measured to.

So, here's on of my favorite soups: sausage and white bean (with tons of vegetables of course). The spicy Italian sausage gives just enough warmth to round out the other flavors while the beans bulk up the soup and give it an excellent creaminess.

To make it, I minced garlic and diced onion, carrot, yellow bell pepper, and zucchini. To a large dutch oven pot, I began by cooking the Italian sausage. This particular kind has fennel seed in it, which adds a great aroma to the soup. It should render out its fat, which is an excellent source of oil to cook our veggies in. They soak up all of the flavor from the sausage! Add in a pinch of salt and pepper to continue to draw out the moisture from the vegetables.

Drain a can of cannellini beans and add it in. Fill the dutch oven with chicken stock (about a quart). You can also use veggie stock, beef stock, or even water if you're in a pinch. After about five minutes of simmering, a layer of fat will start to form at the top; this is due to the sausage. But, it's super simple to remove- just take your wooden spoon and skim the top of the liquid to discard.

Add in a handful of spinach and serve it up! The spinach should only take seconds to wilt down. Enjoy!