Joy the Baker

White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup

by 40 Comments

Making soup means you have some time.  Some time and some fire.  

Question… what’s going on with this Instant Pot? I’m not interested.  I like the time it takes a soup to simmer and soften.  Isn’t that time enough to have a glass of wine in the shower?  Isn’t it one of life’s great joys? Wine in warm water while dinner slowly simmers away on the stove.  I don’t know much…. but that is one of life’s great pleasures and no Instant Soup Thing should take that away from me.  

I’m obviously speaking from a very stubborn place. A stubborn place without any tangible information about the Instant Pot.  It’s probably lovely and comes in very handy.  I just like ritual, and shower wine (which is a luxury, I know).

I wanted to offer you some soup today.  Hearty, robust (I have slight regrets about using this word), simmering comfort –  something to prep on Saturday and make on Sunday for next week.  Like you’re a thoughtful person to yourself (they’re calling that SELF CARE these days).  

The recipe is casual.  Feel free to add more or less of anything you’d like.  Use dried beans.  They’re more delicious, more satisfying and more human.  My trick aside from the dried beans is to also add a can of white beans, blended to smooth with a bit of the simmering liquid and cooked beans.  This will turn the soup broth to velvet and make you feel like a soup wizard.  

This is my offering.  Here’s to the weekend! 

How To Have A Big Bowl of White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup A Few Days From Now

Print this Recipe!

Here’s What You’ll Need:

1 pound of dried cannellini white beans 

a bit of olive oil

uncooked spicy or mild sausage – about 2 links of sausage (about half a pound)

a yellow onion

a few cloves of garlic

a green bell pepper – half of the pepper diced for the recipe, the other half sliced for snacking

6 to 8 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper – a bay leaf if you’re feelin’ it

8 to 10 good clean lacitano kale leaves, ribs removed and coarsely chopped

1 (15 ounce) can white cannellini beans 

We’ll start by soaking the beans.  They’re dried.  They need a bit of attention and time alone before they hit the pot.  

Place the dried beans in a big ol’ bowl and cover them by several inches with warm water.  You’ll think nothing is happening.  They’ll wrinkle and look curious.  The’ll plump as the start to absorb the water around them.  Let the beans be – overnight is best. 

Once the beans have had their time, it’s your time to make soup! Hopefully it’s mid afternoon and you have a free hour to yourself.  Maybe your love is perched on a stool talking about what you’ll both binge watch later.  Either way, pour yourself a cup of tea or an early glass of wine and savor what you get to do in the kitchen for the next bit.  

Chop an onion.  Small to medium dices.  You’ll want about a cup of diced onion total.  Scraps and skin and ends – save them for stock

Mince the garlic.  

Chop the bell pepper so you have about half a cup for the soup.  Eat the rest, reminding yourself that you like bell pepper. 

Where’s your large soup pot?  The pot you always make soup in?  Place it on the stove over medium heat. Add a glug of oil along with the sausage.  Cook it up.  Break it up.  Crank the heat to get a good crisp on the meat as it cooks through.  Spoon the meat into a small bowl. 

Yup.

Do you want to drain some of the fat?  You can if you’d like.  Leave some in the pan.  Add the onions and garlic and bell pepper.  Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Allow to cook down until the onions are translucent, the garlic is fragrant and the peppers have softened.  

Add the sausage back to the pan.  

Drain the beans and add the beans to the pot, too.  

Chicken stock too.  Now we’re cookin’ with gas. (I mean… probably.  It’s mostly an expression.)

Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to the lowest simmer.  Cover the pot and cook until beans are softened.  This might take half an hour of so.  Plenty of time for a glass of wine in the shower if you’re into that sort of thing.  Before you walk away from the stove, give the pot a few watchful minutes to ensure that the simmering mixture doesn’t boil over.  Every stovetop and pot is different.

Simmer until beans are soft.  You’ll know when the time is right.

Now… in a blender, empty the can of beans – liquid and all.  

Ladle in a few scoopfuls of the warm soup – beans and broth.  Blend until the mixture is smooth and stir it into the simmering soup!  Look how creamy that got!  Well done well done!

Add the chopped kale. It will wilt willingly.  Taste.  Does it need more salt and pepper?  Add it.  Stir it up.  

Enjoy warm for many days to come.  

You did great. 

  

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. sarah

    I never thought to bring my wine to the shower. That is happening tonight. This soup is going on my meal plan for this week :) thanks!

    Reply

  7. Wendy Lestina

    Good recipe with some new tricks. I got my recipe years old from an old (now, I’m that old) Portuguese woman, so I usually make it with linguica as the sausage. Classic Azores . One thing: I’ve found that unless kale is hours-fresh, it can be tough and/or bitter. I saute mine separately with garlic and oil before adding to the Mother Pot. Thanks again.

    Reply

  8. Kristin

    I love homemade soup and the whole slow process.I use to run a daycare and when i prepared lunch i also prepped for dinner.Rituals are very calming to me so this was a good time of day to do this.I would often make extra for my families so pick up time also included picking up dinner;) I did this with Chili as well…great way to brighten someones afternoon.Now i run a business taking care of seniors.Bringing homemade soup to someone that can no longer make it …well its one of my greatest JOYS.
    Thank you for this recipe…SLOWLY making it this weekend

    Reply

  9. Charles

    Sometimes, we need to slow down and savor life To me, cooking is one of those times. Food preparation is a ritual, and rituals should not be hurried by rhe likes of the instant pot. Melding the ingredients of a recipe, whether complex or simple should not be a hurried thing.it should be done with purpose and resolve. Enjoy the moments when you are preparing a meal, whether for your loved ones or just for yourself.

    Reply

  10. Amanda

    I love the Instant Pot because I can throw frozen chicken in there and not worry about remembering to set it out to thaw. I don’t use it for everything, but it sure does come in handy!

    Reply

  13. Christina

    The Instant Pot is for those of us with families that preclude taking long warm showers without interruption anyway, with or without wine ?

    Reply

  14. Shannon

    I’m all about ritual- on the weekends. But after you’ve worked 8 hours and commuted over an hour, it’s nice to have dinner before 8:00.

    Reply

    • Kristin

      My hubby and take a one weekend out of the month to cook several dishes.Then when its a late work week you can still enjoy those dishes that take longer.I freeze them in smaller portions so defrost doesnt take as long….defrost..oven..change clothes…wine…feet up and enjoy the lasagna you made last weekend?

      Reply

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