White Bean and Sausage Soup

I often use a pressure cooker to cook beans, but did it slowly on the stovetop here, as I have been working so much from home, and had the time to mind the soup.

Slow cooking on the stovetop produces an especially soft bean. The cooking time will vary considerably, depending on the freshness of the bean. No matter how fresh, soaking the bean through the night before is always the best plan.

1 lb dried cannellini (or other white) beans

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

2 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

1 sweet yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary and/or thyme (I mixed the two) or 1 tsp dried Herbes de Provence or Italian herbs

8 cups water or broth (I used half water and half chicken broth)

4 cups kale leaves, spine removed and chopped

crushed red pepper flakes (I used 1/4 tsp)

Soak beans overnight (or until ready to cook) in water covering beans at least 2 inches, salted with a tablespoon of kosher salt.

When ready to cook, brown the sausage in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, about 8-10 minutes. Add the fennel seeds after about 5-6 minutes.

Remove the sausage and the seeds to a bowl.

Add the carrot, celery and onion to the pot and sauté to soften and just begin to brown the veggies, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Drain the beans.

Add the beans and the water/broth to the pot and bring to a gentle boil.

Stir and reduce to a lazy simmer. Cover and cook about an hour, checking and stirring the beans every 20 minutes or so. The beans will soften depending on how old they were. An hour is typical for them to be able to be bitten through, but it could take longer for older beans. No crunchies. When the beans soften to a toothy consistency, add the sausage back to the broth along with the kale and red pepper flakes to taste.

Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper to taste.

Return to a gentle boil. Stir and turn down to a lazy simmer again. Cover and cook another 30-45 minutes, until the beans are fully cooked through, but not at all yet falling apart. This will be your judgement call and will again depend on the age of the bean.

Serve with crusty bread. Serves 8.

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