White Bean, Sage, and Sausage Soup

By Shelly17

The perfect simple dinner on a busy night, this soup gets a double hit of fennel essence from chopped fennel bulb and the fennel seeds that flavor the sausage. Enjoy half for dinner tonight, and spoon half into a freezer bag to make life easier another night.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped fennel bulb
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 20 ounces hot Italian sausage links, casings removed
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
• 2 cups chopped plum tomato
• 4 (14.5-ounce) cans organic cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Details

Adapted from myrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and next 4 ingredients (through garlic); cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat; cook 10 minutes or until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender, stirring to crumble sausage. Add sage and tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Add stock; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add tomato and beans, and cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, or follow freezing instructions.

TO FREEZE: Cool soup to room temperature; seal in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Lay bag flat in freezer; freeze up to 2 months.

TO THAW: Microwave soup in bag at MEDIUM (50% power) for 4 minutes or until pliable.

TO REHEAT: Pour soup into a Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated (about 20 minutes).