Hearty Sausage and White Bean Soup
With plenty of hearty beans, noodles, and sausage and lots of herbal flavor from fresh oregano, basil, and parsley, this soup will keep you warm and toasty as the weather cools. Serve topped with more fresh basil for an extra elegant bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried Cannellini beans
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ lb. Italian sausage
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp. red chile flakes
- 2 tsps. salt
- 1 tsp. minced fresh oregano
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 24 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 14 oz. cans chicken stock
- 4 cups bean stock
- ½ lb. ditalini pasta
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sort and rinse beans and place in a large bowl. Cover with twice as much cold water as there are beans and let soak overnight.
- Drain and rinse beans. Place in a large stock pot and cover with twice as much water as there are beans. Cover pot with a lid and set over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Rinse beans, reserving bean cooking liquid for later use.
- Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add ground sausage and cook until browned. Using a slotted spoon remove sausage and set aside in a medium-sized bowl.
- Add butter to pot. Once butter has melted. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté until softened. Add salt, fresh oregano, red chile flakes, and white wine.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and bean stock. Use a stick blender to purée until smooth.
- Bring soup to a boil.
- Then add beans, sausage, and ditalini. Cook for 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
- Add fresh chopped basil and parsley and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
