Storms and Soups

Last week a late-Spring storm blew (literally) blew through. By Saturday, Monday's fresh new leaves were shriveled rags of brown. I stopped by a nursery (just to check out what they had, mind you) and the proprietress was apologizing for the state of the plants - desheveled and wind-whipped. My garden looked the same. The restorative power of Spring is amazing - by this Monday, new fresh green are reappearing and unfolding. God's creation is awesome.

We are part of a group that meets monthly for prayer. We gather for a soup dinner, then pray. It was my turn to host. This is not an original soup, but it is an outstanding soup!! It is not heavy, as the thickening comes from the pureed beans, not from cream or a white sauce.

Greens, Beans, and Sausage Soup
*12 oz Italian sausage, casings removed
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 T rubbed dried sage
**3 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
***Chicken broth
4 c water
1 c macaroni
1 (6 0z) bag baby spinache leaves, stems removed
1 T red wine vinegar
1/8 t salt
¼ t pepper
Grated pecorino romano cheese

Crumble the sausage into a cold pot. Cook over med heat, turning occasionally for about 3 minues, or until browned. Remove w/ a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off and discard drippings. Add the garlic and sage.
Cook garlic and sage for about 1 minutes, until fragrant. Add rinsed, drained beans, the broth, and the water. Increase heat; bring to a boil. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to med-low; partially cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Transfer about half the beans and enough broth to cover to a blender. Puree and return to the pot. Add the macaroni and reserved sausage. Simmer about 5 minutes, until the pasta is ad dente. Stir in spinach, vinegar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese at the table.

Notes
*The soup is easily expandable. Could use between 6 – 18 oz or so of sausage. I used a spicy Italian sausage. Got rave reviews.
** I used Great Northern Beans as cannellini beans were not available
*** A total of about 45 oz broth. That would be about 5 ½ cups, if you’ve made your own. I used 2 qts commercial broth and a little less water.

It fed 6 adults very adequately. There was even enough for a few 3rds.