White Bean and Sausage Soup

I am not a big soup maker, I like soup but I usually dont think about cooking it and I feel like sometimes it takes far to long to prep and make. When we went to Vermont in October my sister in law Sherry made this soup for us and it has turned into a staple meal in our house. For the most part I have all of the ingredients at all times and it is really yummy with some warm bread.

It has been adapted from this recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/white-bean-soup.html

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 package of sausage ( mild or hot your preference)
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 3 celery stalk, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cans (each 15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. sherry vinegar

 

Directions:

In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 5 -10 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cannellini beans, broth and thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. ( I usually let the soup simmer for an hour or so if you dont have time for that you can continue on with the recipe as soon as everything is cooked)
Remove the pan from the heat. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and black pepper. Keep the soup warm.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, top with cheese and serve immediately with some warm bread.