DEBORAH CROMBIE: All that talk about fall and soups yesterday made me hungry for this one, although it is in our regular dinner rotation because it's not too heavy and all the ingredients except for the spinach are pantry and freezer staples. And it's quick and easy, perfect for weeknight dinners. My local butcher makes fabulous kielbasa so I usually have some in the freezer. If not, I use Pederson's uncured organic Polish sausage.
You might guess just how long I've been making this recipe from state of the old newspaper clipping!
I can now, however, throw this together from memory.
Here's my slightly updated version:
WHITE BEAN AND SPINACH SOUP WITH SMOKED SAUSAGE
Olive oil
1 chopped onion (any color will do)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage (or more)
2 cans white beans (I use Bush's Great Northern, my fave)
1 carton (32 oz.) chicken stock
1/2 cup orzo (I use whole wheat)
8 oz sliced Polish sausage
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 bag fresh baby spinach
Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
Saute onion in a splash of olive oil until it softens. Add garlic and sage, cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add rinsed and drained beans, orzo, stock, and salt, and pepper. Cook until orzo is tender. Add sliced sausage, cook until sausage is heated. (If you put the sausage in at the beginning, it will get tough.) Stir in spinach, cook until spinach is just wilted.
Serve with a drizzle of really good olive oil and grated cheese. I like a little squeeze of lemon, too. It just makes the flavors pop. If you want to get really fancy, you could garnish with some fresh sage leaves, fried until crispy. Yum!
This is a very adaptable recipe, easy to make vegetarian by leaving out the sausage and using vegetable stock. You could substitute kale for the spinach. The original recipe calls for frozen spinach but I've never used it. I usually serve this with crisp toasted sourdough bread--sort of make-your-own-croutons.
REDS and readers, what are some of your tried-and-true weeknight favorite?
