Escarole, sausage & bean soup

Okay, so this isn't the lowest-cal soup that's come out of the kitchen this winter.

What, are you on a diet or something?

Escarole, sausage and beans are on this earth to give us pleasure. And everybody knows that they do this best when they are together.

That's a fact, by the way. If you don't believe me, just look it up.

So if you're still in winter soup-making mode give this one a try. In Maine we'll be in soup-making mode until around mid-June, so there's still plenty of time to let me know how things turn out.



Finely dice two carrots, two celery stalks, one onion, five or six garlic cloves and a little hot pepper and saute in olive oil until softened but not browned.



Then stir in a pound of sweet Italian sausage meat.



After just a few minutes the sausage meat should be cooked enough.



At this point add 12 cups of water, one pound of thoroughly rinsed dried beans (I used a small white varietal but most any bean will do) and a piece of cheese rind (Parmigiano-Reggiano of course!). Cover the pot and allow to simmer at medium-high heat.



Cooking beans is an inexact science and so at this stage you're kind of on your own. I did not presoak these beans (if I had they would have cooked faster), so at the one-hour mark I tested them to find they were around 45 minutes away from being done.



After another 15 minutes or so I added a full head of cleaned and chopped escarole, as well as salt and pepper to taste, then returned the cover to the pot and let things simmer for another half hour.



The total cooking time of your soup may vary but this one simmered for a little under two hours.



At which point you can have at it right away or let the soup sit in the fridge overnight and eat it the following day.

Since this batch will feed 4-6 people My Associate and I chose to do both.