Bean and Sausage Soup

This works very well with hot or sweet Italian Sausage, but also works well with almost any other good sausage you happen to have.

Ingredients:
1 Lb Dry Navy Beans, rehydrated according to package directions
1 1/4 Lb Sweet Italian Sausage Links, cut lengthwise, then into chunks.
1 Large or 2 Medium Red Onions, minced.
1 Quart Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth (optional)
2 Stalks Celery, chopped 1/4″
4 – 5 Large Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 C Chopped Parsley
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
2 Bay Leaves

Recipe:

  • Rinse beans and discard anything that isn’t a Navy
    Bean.
  • Add a little olive oil to a sauce pot and heat on medium until
    hot.
  • Add sausage and cook until no longer raw-looking
  • Add onion and celery, and saute until very lightly browned.
  • Add chopped garlic and saute until softened (not browned)
  • Add beans and mix well
  • Add chicken broth and bay leaf and mix well
  • Add enough water to cover the top of the ingredients
    by at least 2 inches, and heat on medium-high until just barely boiling, then reduce heat to a bare simmer.
  • Reduce heat to very low and cook for 10-12 hours until beans are very soft
  • Add water as necessary and stir and stir occasionally
    to prevent it from becoming too thick
  • Add parsley about a half-hour before serving
  • Enjoy! (don’t forget to remove the bay leaves!)