Sausage, White Bean, & Rapini Soup
This hearty soup is packed full of healthy ingredients and is a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch rapini, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 lb mild italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 can (540 ml) white kidney beans, drained and rinsed also known as cannellini beans
- approx. 400 ml canned diced tomatoes (Approx. 1/2 of a 796 ml can. Freeze the rest for future soup!)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 rind of parmesan cheese (optional) see notes
- 1 cup small shaped, whole wheat pasta, any variety such as macaroni, small shells, or rotini
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 -1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. (See recipe notes)
- Meanwhile: fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Chop rapini into 1 inch pieces, including the stalks.
- Add chopped rapini to boiling water. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then drain. Run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks.
- Stir in chopped onion and garlic. Heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add rinsed white beans, canned tomato, parmesan rind (if using) and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in blanched rapini. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- To serve, place cooked pasta in bottom of each bowl, then top with soup and sprinking of grated parmesan cheese.
- Serve with crusty bread, if desired.
Notes
The parmesan rind is optional, but adds wonderful salty flavour and depth to the soup.
We recommend sticking leftover parmeasan rinds in the freezer to have ready whenever you need them for soup or stew.
Leftover soup freezes beautifully. Just leave out the pasta. Freeze soup in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 4 months. Then simply thaw, reheat, and serve!
We always cook the pasta for soup separately and add it to each individual bowl. Why? Because otherwise leftover soup is left full of mushy pasta, as the pasta continues to absorb liquid long after it's added to the soup. By cooking it separately, it can be added fresh to each bowl of soup, and never gets mushy!