Cannellini Bean Soup with Roasted Italian Sausage and Escarole

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. hot or sweet Italian Sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 T finely minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp. olive oil, to saute onions and garlic
• 1 can cannellini beans, not rinsed
• 6 cups + 1-2 cups more homemade chicken stock
• Pinch hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 large head escarole, thinly sliced and coarsely chopped
• Coarse ground black pepper to taste
• Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions

1. Heat the oven or toaster oven to 425. Coat a roasting pan with olive oil spray, add the sausage, and roast until it is deeply browned and cooked all the way through, about 25 minutes. Set the sausage aside to cool, then slice it into pieces about 1/4 inch thick.
2. After the roasting pan has cooled for a few minutes, add 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock to the pan. Use a metal turner to loosen the browned bits, then save that liquid to go into the soup with the rest of the chicken stock. You can cook the sausage in a frying pan instead, but roasting gives the turkey sausage a deeper flavor in the soup.
3. As the sausage roasts, chop the onions and garlic. Warm the olive oil in a heavy soup pot, then cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, just until they soften without browning. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
4. Pour the chicken stock into the soup pot, including the liquid used to deglaze the roasting pan. Add the beans, sliced sausage, and hot pepper flakes, then simmer for about 30 minutes.
5. While the soup is simmering, wash the escarole, slice it, and give it a coarse chop. Stir the escarole into the pot, adding more chicken stock if the soup looks thicker than you want. Taste and season with black pepper as needed. Salt may not be necessary, but add some if you think it needs it.
6. Continue cooking for 20-30 minutes more, until the escarole has softened enough to begin falling apart a bit. If you want a slightly thicker texture, use an immersion blender to barely blend the soup after the escarole has cooked about 15 minutes; that step is completely optional.
7. Serve the soup hot, with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the top if desired.