White Bean and Swiss Chard Minestrone

This is the way I like minestrone; loaded with vegetables, white beans and chicken sausage. This really hits the spot when you want something healthy but still as comforting as a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer on a cold winter night. Buzzing some of the white beans in a blender with the tomatoes makes the soup have a creamier mouthfeel. If you have a wedge of paremesan, the rind is the non-edible part of a that, when chopped off, seasons the soup nicely.


Base Flavors:
1lb chicken italian sausage (remove casings)
few dashes of red pepper flakes
6 carrots (peeled and diced)
1 onion (diced)
6 stalks of celery (diced)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
few cranks of freshly cracked black pepper
olive oil

Top Flavors:
28oz can of crushed tomatoes (preferably organic)
2 small cans of white (cannellini) beans
6 leaves of swiss chard
small handful of fresh basil (chopped fine)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 qt. chicken broth (preferably organic)
1 parmesan rind (optional)

Sautee chicken sausage in hot olive oil and red pepper in a large pot or dutch oven until cooked through. Remove from pot and set aside but leave the oil and sautee carrots, onion and celery with salt and pepper until they are slightly browned. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Add more oil if necessary.

Puree the tomatoes in a blender with half a can of the white beans. Add parmesan rind, tomato mixture and remaining beans to the veggies, then add garlic and chicken broth. Stir and add cooked sausage, swiss chard and basil. Let the soup simmer covered for 5 minutes.