“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake.”
- Francis Bacon

Sunday, January 03, 2010

North Woods Bean Soup with a Polish twist



Adding Polish sausage lends this soup a rich, slow-simmered flavor. Puree a portion of the recipe for a velvety consistency, and stir in fresh spinach after the soup is removed from the heat so it retains its bright color. Add a loaf of crusty bread and you are set for a satisfying meal that tastes good and is good for you.

Ingredients

cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces Polish sausage , halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves

Preparation

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and sausage; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 15 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 25 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

9 comments:

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Oh MiMi...
You are going to spoil me with these wonderful recipes. I just love them. This one sounds so scrumpous, and it is to late at night to be eating for me anyway. It will send my blood sugars into fits.

Thanks for sharing sweetie. Is it really cold there tonight? We had a pretty nice day today. Not real hot, but not cold either. Just right for me.

Have a beautiful Sunday...Sherry

Zuzana said...

Happy 2010 dear Mimi, I am back from my holidays.;)
I hope you had a lovely Christmas and Silvester.;)
The soup is so similar to our Slovak one.;)
xoxo
Zuzana

Eclectic Chic Style said...

Your blog is my favorite cookbook!! Another delicious looking soup. MMMMMMM
Hugs ♥ Teresa

Lucy said...

Another delicious recipe from you! Your photo makes the soup look sooo good!

Tara said...

Wow everything here sure looks delicious! Especially that french onion soup in the previous post. I hope the new year is going well for you and thanks for stopping by, it was great to hear from you!

Pat@deepintheheart said...

These soups look yummy. It's particularly cold and gloomy down here in Texas today - a great time for soups! Happy New Year!

2 Dogs said...

Was going to make soup today but didn't want to leave the cottage. Too cold to get out. I'll stop on the way home from work tomorrow and get all my ingredients. Brrrrrrrrrrrr! Hugs

Cottage Rose said...

Hello and Happy 2010 Mimi;

My goodness your soup looks and sounds so yummy... the weather here is really cold and soup sounds so warm and delish...have a great week.

Hugs;
Alaura

My Grama's Soul said...

I didn't realize that your blog had such FAB recipes. Please keep it up.

Happy New Year to you,

Jo