Hopefully this is the last soup I make this long winter season:)  I have to say this soup was very good and not too heavy, a good “spring” soup, if there is such a term.   I’m sure most of you read the book by Frances Mayes: Under the Tuscan Sun or watched the movie.  I have to say I liked the book better than the movie but that’s how it usually is for me:)  I always love the book so much more and the movie never lives up to the scenes in my head.  Anyway I just read another one of her books:  Every Day In Tuscany and man do I REALLY want to travel back to Italy.  I would love to rent a villa there in Tuscany and just roam around the hill towns and drink wine, stroll the streets, eat amazing food, just be there.  I don’t even want to go to all the tourist areas, just relax and unwind.

OK Back to the book- it’s a memoir of about a year or 2 of her life while living in Italy.  She lives there part of the year and I’m jealous for sure!  She incorporated recipes into this book as well(not good when you are on the 6:30pm train home and starving;).  So I decided to try one of the soups that sounded really good:

Zuppa di Cavolo Nero, Cannellini, E Salsicce/Kale, White Bean and Sausage Soup

 

The recipe:

2 Italian Sausages, skins removed and crumbled- next time I would use 4.  I also used hot sausage but you could use sweet, or turkey.  Whatever you like

4 tbls olive oil- I didn’t measure here, just eyeballed it.

2 onions chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

2 quarts chicken stock

1 cup white wine

6 thyme springs(A&P was out of fresh thyme and I wasn’t going to another supermarket so I used dried, I’m sure fresh would be much better!)

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped to bite size pieces

4 cups cooked cannelloni beans- I just used the canned ones but you can soak and cook them if you want to:)

Saute the crumbled sausage in the oil until browned and reserve.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add the chick stock to a large pot or your trusty Le Creuset dutch oven:)  Add the wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated(not really sure how long that is?), then add the thyme and kale.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the cooked sausage and the beans and simmer for another 15 minutes.  That’s it- really simple and easy.  This is supposed to serve 12-14 people  but if it’s your main dish I’d say 4-6.  The left overs lasted us 3 dinners, which is perfect for us on the weeknights.  We also had bread dipped in olive oil- yum.

I also want to try these recipes also from her book:  Risotto with White Truffles & the Focaccia.  How good do those sound.  I wanted to include an excerpt from her book here which I just loved:

“The choreography of the kitchen- I peel, you scrape, wine spills, bag splits, beans simmer, sink slurps, petals fall, flour drifts, crust splits, aromas spread, lights flicker, chocolate melts, glass shatters, sauce thickens, finger bleeds, cheese ripens, crumbs fall, sweat drips, spoon bangs,meat glistens,oil splatters, wine breathes, garlic smashes, lettuces float, silver shines, apron snags, you sneeze, I sing “oh, my love,my darling”, and dough rises in soft moons the size of my cupped hand as planet earth tilts us toward dinner.”

I’m also looking for a good pasta fagoli recipe- if anyone knows of a good one- leave a comment or let me know!  I’m sure Giada has one, just haven’t looked yet:)  Enjoy!