- 6
Ingredients
- 5 links (19.5 oz.) hot turkey Italian sausage
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite dice tomatoes with juice
- 2 cans (15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained
- 2 T minced garlic
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. ground fennel (or more, I love fennel in recipes like this)
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 4 cups chopped kale leaves
- freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan, add sausages, and cook turning often, for 10 minutes or until sausage is nicely browned on all sides. Remove sausage to a cutting board to let it cool.
While sausage cooks, dump the two cans of cannellini beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse well with cold water (until no more foam appears.) Let beans drain well. As soon as the sausage is cool enough to handle, slice it into round pieces about 1 inch thick.
Put sliced sausage, drained beans, tomatoes with juice, garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, and chicken stock into the slow cooker and stir gently. Let cook for about 2 1/2 hours on high or 5 hours on low.
While the stew is cooking, chop the kale, cutting away and discarding any thick inner ribs. (Wash kale in a salad spinner if you're using garden kale.) After 2 1/2 hours on high (or 5 hours on low), add the kale and stir gently into the stew. Continue cooking stew about 45 minutes more on high (or 1 1/2 hours on low). Serve hot, with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
This freezes well and can be reheated in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.