Tuscan Bean Soup

Seriously... Am I losing it? What does cooking have to do with Photography??? Not a whole lot, but they're my biggest passions and what the heck... I think I need to post some of my favourite recipes here... I will NOT cook for a living, but I will cook for you if you want to... Just let me know that you want to be invited to one of my dinner parties and I'll make sure to put you in the list...


Anyway, I had something like this when I was in Italy in December and I really nailed this recipe yesterday...


Tuscan Bean Soup


Ingredients:

2 cans navy beans* (small and white)
1 can black beans*
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 Large Onion - finely diced
1 Bunch Celery - finely diced
1 Bunch Kale - finely diced
4 Cloves of Garlic
3 Large Carrots - finely diced**
5 Mild or Hot Italian Sausage Links
1 Large Can of Diced Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil - 5 Tablespoons (it's good for you!)

In a skillet, sautee the carrots, onions, celery, kale and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes on medium heat. In a large Crockpot, combine the beans, the veggie mix and the chicken broth. Let it simmer on High for 4 hours.

30 Minutes before you sit down to eat, take the sausages out of their casing and sautee them in a separate skillet. Once cooked, add the diced tomatoes (I usually puree them quickly) and let that mixture simmer for 15 minutes.

Before serving, add the sausage mix to the bean and veggie mix and check for salt and pepper.

That's it! Serve and enjoy!

Please post a comment if you managed to read it this far!


*you can use dry beans but then you have to soak them overnight.

** I usually use a food processor to chop the veggies into really tiny pieces