Monday, February 23, 2009

Hey! It’s not a bottomless pot of ... Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup!

Do you follow a cooking routine? By that I mean do you like to have or prepare certain things on certain days of the week? You know, like how Marjie makes brownies on Tuesday’s? Well, here in the It’s All Gouda kitchen, Sunday is soup makin’ day. I like to make a gargantuan pot of soup to provide a couple days worth of hot thermos lunches for my wee one as well as a couple steamy bowls for me for lunch. I eat soup year round, but especially savor it’s body warming qualities in the winter months.

Today’s soup is awesome! It’s another super-dee-duper easy recipe to put together, but tastes good enough for company. Both my husband and youngest daughter ate *3* servings of this in one sitting. T-h-r-e-e servings. Each. Bear in mind that the youngest spoon wrangler is only about 50 lbs fully clothed. After I had my one serving, there was only a whopping two servings left in the pot for weekday lunches. I informed these loves of my life that this was not a bottomless pot of soup. Without dripping a single drop as they shoveled in spoonful after spoonful, the perpetrators of this travesty ever so casually suggested that I should just, you know, whip up another pot full. Uh huh. Picture me ... incredulous expression plastered on my face ... opening and closing my mouth, with no sound emitting from said oraface, about four times before I just walked away. After all, what did I have to complain about. They ate it. With gusto. While making yummy noises. Little stinkers.

Won’t you join me now as we make It’s not a bottomless pot of Smoked Sausage and White Bean Soup. Here’s what you’ll need:1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon of bacon drippings from breakfast
1 lb smoked sausage – cut into fourths and diced in ½ in pieces.
1 large onion – diced
2 carrots – diced
3 cloves garlic – minced with salt
1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can larger white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or just use a total of 2 cans white beans)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 15 oz cans chicken broth
1 cup water
dash cayenne pepper

In a large stock pot, heat the oil and bacon drippings over medium heat.Add the sausage, turn up the heat a bit, and sauté until browned. Remove the sausage from the skillet, there should be some fond in the bottom of the pan, stir the onions right into it. Saute for a couple minutes, then add the carrots. Saute the carrots and onions just a minute or two, then add the garlic. Stir frequently another minute or two. Add the sausage back into the pot. Add the beans, bay leaf, and thyme. Give a good stir, then add the broth and water. Sprinkle in just a wee bit of cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and gently simmer about 30 minutes uncovered. Done.Mmm, mmm, good. Just look at that!Isn't it lovely?Go ahead, take a bite. Unlike many bean soups, this one is a brothy bean soup ... instead of a thick one. A simple salad and a hearty loaf of bread alongside would satisfy just about anybody. One bite of this will make you wish this really was a bottomless pot of soup!YUM! Oh, and this is gluten free, all the way, baby!

31 comments:

OhioMom said...

Okay .. beans are a regular in our home in the winter too, with hot water cornbread, but I LOVE your addition of carrots! They definitely will go in my next pot.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I would freeze this soup by the bucket loads:D

Cathy said...

I made soup twice last week and am ready to make another pot. Can't get enough of the wonderful stuff. Love the sausage and white bean combo. Thanks for the recipe Paula.

Jennifer said...

Ok I am making this for the hubster when he gets back in town. That looks and sounds yummy, that photo was the "perfect bite"

Pam said...

Yum. This is one of my very favorite soups - it looks hearty and delicious.

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

This looks fabulous! We love soup so I make it at least once a week (but no set schedule). Making it on Sunday is brilliant though.

Yum, I see wonderful recipes here ~ very nice blog! I found you through Cathy's blog (Wives with Knives), another terrific blog!

Deborah said...

I also am one who eats soup year round, and this one is one that I'd love!

Maria said...

Gotta love a hearty soup like this one!

grace said...

so your daughter practically ate her own weight in this soup? that's quite an endorsement. :)

Anonymous said...

Your soup looks and sounds delicious. I do like bean soups to be brothy.

Maria Verivaki said...

this soup is so very greek (esp the olive oil!)

we make a very similar bean dish called yigandes (or gigandes) using sausage.

and val is right - it's a great warming soup to freeze

Anonymous said...

I wish my kids would take this in a thermos it looks dang delicious Paula!

Peter M said...

I've seen a few sausage & bean soups around today...that spoonful is love in one bite!

pam said...

I'm with your sweeties, I can eat bean soup like there is no tomorrow.

Marjie said...

I made chicken soup with fresh made broth on Saturday, but it probably won't make it to a post until next week. There were no lunchable leftovers (sob)!

Have you been able to get ideas from your "new" soup cookbook? I hope so. It just called your name to me from the book sale last fall, and I knew winter was coming (doesn't it always?)

Lyndas recipe box said...

I made soup today and already I want to try yours! When the weathers cold, I make it every week.Your bean soup looks delish!

Jan said...

I'm not surprised the family almost scarfed the lot, that soup looks yummtious.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

My family and I would go crazy over this soup! This is fantastic and I know why there wasn't much left of lunches. I am bookmarking this!

Maria Verivaki said...

hi paula, i'm glad you saw the advertisement i posted on my recent post. the women in it look and dress very much as you would expect to see in rural areas, and that's why i included it. i think it is very representative of middle-aged greek women living in the countryside, and it puts a lot of what i write about it in persepctive

Tatersmama said...

Oh my! Can I come live at your house? I do dishes... I swear I do!
I've never seen white beans here, but I have about a ton of pintos... (don't ask - it's future blog material!) and I wonder... hmmm?
Canneloni's CAN be found though, so I might send the old guy on a hunting expedition this morning.
Our weather has cooled right down, but we're due to hit 95F by the end of the week!

Gloria said...

Paula this look so tasty!!! xGloria

Jan said...

Fantastic looking soup! Love the smoked sausage.

Paula said...

Hello, Soup lovers! Glad you stopped by!

OhioMom: What's hot water cornbread? Sounds yummy!

Bellini Valli: Can you believe that I rarely freeze soup! Crazy! I should do that!

Cathy: Ah, a fellow soup maker! This was a great combo.

Cheryl: It was a perfect bite! Hope your hubby comes home soon!

Pam: It was really filling without being heavy!

Mari: Thanks for stopping by! I'm always on the look out for new soup recipes!

Deborah: Year round soup is a staple in my house! My littlest one loves it ... maybe your little sous chef will, too, when she's older!

Maria: It was great!

Grace: She's a pint sized eating machine!

Lulu: It was really, really good!

Med Kiwi: Guess which olive oil I used?!! Hania! YUM!

Noble Pig: She carries a thermos lunch EVERYDAY to school! She's my gluten free kid, so no sandwiches make their way into her lunch.

Peter M: One can never have too many bean soups to choose from! I'm all about sharing the love!

Pam: It was a feeding frenzy! Guess this soup goes on the repeat list!

Marjie: Homemade chicken soup is the best! I can see why it didn't make it to weekday lunches! And ... LOVE and use both cookbooks! You know me well. They are full of bookmarks, and no one can wrestle them out of my grip!

Lynda: Soup just spells comfort to me!

Jan: I couldn't believe how quickly the soup disappeared. They did eat a late breakfast, too!

Katherine: This is one of those soups that comes together quickly and easily! Let me know if you make it!

Med Kiwi: Not only do they represent Greece, but they could double for my memories of older Italian women, too!

Tatersmama: You're offering to do the dishes? Get on over here, girl! I'll whip up some tasty soup for us!

Gloria: Thanks! It was great!

Jan: The smoked sausage paired great with the beans!

Maria Verivaki said...

hi paula - go back to my last post to read someone's comment (they've referenced you, so you might like to respond)

Maria Verivaki said...

and thanks again for the response!

Lo said...

Methinks a bit of smoked sausage goes a long way toward making this recipe truly fantastic. This looks like it would be a total winner at our house. ummm... beans!

Proud Italian Cook said...

I'll take a bite,no, I'll take a big bowl! This soup looks awesome Paula!

La Bella Cooks said...

Mmm, I can smell the sausage from here. Love it! It always gives such a fantastic flavor to soups and rice dishes, especially paella. This soup looks so hearty and addictive. Great recipe, Paula!

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test it comm said...

That soup looks really tasty! I like using sausage in soups like this as they add a ton of flavour!

MrOrph said...

I am with you an the soup day. I don't do specific dishes on specific days anymore, but either Saturday or Sunday, during the cold months, always a soup is made.