Kale, Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

We finally got a little chill in the air at the end of the week and I immediately put soup on the menu for this weekend. I wanted to pack as many vegetables in it as possible to prepare ourselves for candy overload on Halloween! It provided the perfect pairing of comfort and ease for the weekend.

Kale, Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

Adapted from Farmer John's Cookbook: Kale and White Bean Soup

3 Tbsp olive oil (Texas Olive Ranch)

3-4 smoke dried tomatoes, finely chopped (Boggy Creek Farm)

3 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

2 green onions or shallots (Austin Farmers' Market)

1 medium sweet potato, diced (Johnson's Backyard Garden *We had already used ours, so we got one at Wheatsville)

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 of a 15 oz. can of peeled tomatoes, drained (Reserve the rest for making pasta later!)

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (We used our homemade stock)

2 bay leaves (our garden)

2-3 stems of thyme and oregano

bunch of kale, chopped (Johnson's Backyard Garden at Austin Farmers' Market on Wednesday and Saturday)

2 cups of cooked or canned white beans

cooked Italian sausage (Wheatsville)

salt and pepper

1. In a large pot heat garlic, olive oil, onion and smoke dried tomatoes over medium heat. 

2. Add the onion and stir constantly. 

3. Add sweet potato and carrot and stir for 5 minutes. 

4. Add tomatoes and pour in the chicken stock. Add thyme, oregano and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. 

Our homemade chicken stock

5. Add kale and beans. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes. 

6. Add the Italian sausage and season with with salt and pepper.