White Bean Soup with Ham, Sausage and Kale

Easter weekend just passed and it was a very incredible weekend filled with yummy food, time to cook, good wine, mimosas, family (well D's family not mine but they are wonderful so I am not complaining!), four amazing labs (usually there are six but two stayed in Katy), and plenty of pool/sun time. Post-Easter saw D and I with a fridge that was literally overflowing with leftover food (thanks to D's generous mom). I had two honey baked hams. One was destined for soups because it had been in the freezer since Christmas and was defrosted for the weekend, but just did not have the right texture to eat. Not a problem at the time of eating has we had a back up ham and the old one would be perfect in soup because the texture would not matter. Incidentally this old ham, also had the largest ham hock I have ever seen. It was the size of my forearm - if not bigger. So the fridge is full and I have carrots and celery and 20 pounds of ham that need to be eaten. I am thinking...you know I have always wanted to try a cassoulet. Dilemma - it is the weekday and I do not have the time it takes to make a cassoulet. I need something I can prep ahead, throw in a pot in the morning and simmer it until I get home for dinner. Additionally, Whole Foods does not sell duck thighs and I am not paying 30 bucks for a do-it-from-your-fridge meal. Solution: White Beans (which I had in the pantry), Spicy Chicken Sausage (which I had in the freezer), Ham (you are quite aware I had ham) and Kale soup. Kale later turned into Swiss Chard because WF was out of it. It was good for my first time. I can see why it is a winter trend - next time I think that I will use less liquid to make a ticker stew that the beans really stand out in (I LOVE beans). I also think that I will finish it off in the oven with a nice layer of cheese and some garlic croutons - in a nod to one of my favorites - French Onion Soup. Cassoulet - that masterful feat I have yet to accomplish - will have to wait. Don't be intimidated by the length of this list - it is basically just the contents of a fridge, pantry and freezer thrown together to get used in time.If you have chicken thighs, those would be great to throw in this as well. You should know that I did this the incredibly lazy way - I did not put my soup broth through a strainer. I did not puree it. I did not pick out the veggies and replace with uncooked one (carrots and such lose their flavor after about two hours cooking so generally, you are supposed to replace them to obtain a soup that does not have muddled flavors). I just ate it as it was.

Time wise here is what I did. The day before cooking, I prepped all ingredients and put them into bowls and soaked the beans. Day off I brown the meat, then threw in the veggies, liquid and seasoning. Let hang out for a few hours, taste test once you get home and adjust seasoning as necessary.

• 2 large white or yellow onions
• 1 entire (Large) head garlic, cloves peeled and halved
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 5 carrots, sliced into half inch pieces then halved
• couple of pieces of fresh torn sage leaves, whole
• 2 bay leaves
• One sprig rosemary
• 8 Thyme stems
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt
• Pepper to taste (a lot)
• 1.5 cups dry white wine
• 2.5 cups Chicken Stock
• Sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomato paste, to taste
• Dried Chipotle Peppers or Sriracha to taste
• 1/4 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• A couple of slices of toasted garlic bread 
• 2 links of Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage
• One ham Hock 
• Handful of torn ham pieces
• 4 cups dried Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
• Two bunches Kale or Swiss Chard, sliced into long sliced and stems removed
• 1-2 Parmesan Cheese Rinds (I keep old rinds in the freezer and throw them into soups to get them more depth)
• Smoked Paprika (optional - I added it just because)

Soak beans over night in room temperature water (fill bowl with water covering the beans plus four inches). The next day, heat a good amount of olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sausage (and whatever other meat is being used i.e. chicken thighs, duck thighs, ham hock, etc) and sear. remove from pan and add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, celery, bay leaves, a pinch of salt, and a small bundle (tied with kitchen string) that contains the rosemary, sage, and thyme to the pan and saute until glassy - scrapping up the bits of meat from the bottom. Once glassy, degalze the pan with the white wine cook for a couple minutes. Add beans, meat, dried chilis, cheese rind, tomato paste and a good amount of black pepper to the pan. Add the chicken stock. Stir and cover. Cook over a low heat for 2-4 hours. Taste test and add flavors has necessary. Add the greens and allow to cook for another 30-45 minutes, then remove any bones or chunks of fatty meat, chilis, and the bouquet garni from stew. Laddle into large bowls and top with a handful of shredded cheese and a spoonful of pesto. Serve with crusty, toasted garlic bread.