Bursting with beans, greens, and sausage, Chef John's white bean and sausage stew is comforting and nutritious and warms you from the inside out.
Preparation Time
15 mins
Cooking Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 45 mins
Calories
669 Calories
Recipe Instructions
Step 1
Soak beans in cold water, 8 hours to overnight.
Step 2
Drain beans and set aside.
Step 3
Make a cut down the center of each sausage and peel off the casing. Transfer sausage into a dry soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown sausage, while breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Cook and stir until juices start to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, creating a fond, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 4
Add onion and stir to coat in the rendered sausage fat. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to deglaze the pot. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and water.
Step 5
Add drained beans, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and continue to simmer until beans are tender, about 30 more minutes. Taste beans to be certain they are perfectly cooked.
Step 6
Smash about 1/4 of the beans with a potato masher to give the stew a creamy texture if desired. Stir in chopped kale, increase heat to medium, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
Step 7
Ladle hot soup into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
4 cups chopped kale
4 (6 ounce) Italian sausage links with garlic and fennel
6 cups water, or to taste
6 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste
