White Bean, Spicy Sausage, and Greens Soup

Family Recipe.

Should be quick to assemble. Enjoy with a nice crusty (or any) bread for dipping. Almost all of this substitutable. Any leafy green for escarole. Any white bean (smallish), any sausage, any kind of stock. Like any good stone soup, it all tastes better, richer, more complex, mixed together. Beware spiced sausages and clashing stock seasonings, but it's all very forgiving.

Best with:

• Small White Beans (Cannelini, Tondini, etc.)
• Escarole, but failing that, any greens
• Spicy Sausage, in bulk
• Homemade stock, but failing that, Better Than Bullion

Ingredients:

• Approx 6 - 8 cups stock or half-strength stock
• 1 head of escarole or equivalent amount of greens
• 1/2 - 1 pound of spicy Italian sausage
• 2 - 3 cups of cooked white beans, or 1 or 2 cans of precooked cooked white beans
• salt and pepper to taste
• parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• olive oil (optional)

General Method:

1. Prep:
   1. Wash and cut up greens. No need to dry.
   2. Take sausage out of casing (if in casing).
   3. Drain canned beans or soak and cook dried beans.
   4. Grate parmesan
2. Saute in a big soup pot.
3. Remove sausage.
4. Deglaze with stock. It's okay if it's a lot of stock, or even half strength stock.
5. Add beans.
6. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste.
7. Add chopped greens.
8. Add sausage.
9. Taste and season in pot.
10. Serve with scattering of grated cheese and drizzles of olive oil. Accompany with dipping bread. Yum.