White Bean, Escarole & Sausage Soup
Description
There is a not-so-little known deli in my town called Gershon’s, and the first time Ben and I stopped in, we found ourselves in the to-go line staring up at the overwhelming menu board during the midday rush, the trail of hungry regulars growing behind us with every passing second, the decision of what to order becoming harder with every beep-beep-beep of the opening front door.
Ingreadient :
- 6 to 8 cups homemade chicken stock (recipe below)
- 1/2 lb. to 1 lb. escarole, depending on tastes
- 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 2 to 3 cups cooked white beans (recipe below or from two 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
Direction :
- Place stock in a large soup pot and bring to a very gentle simmer. If you have a rind from a wedge of Parmigiano or Pecorino or something of the like, drop it into the stock. Meanwhile, cut the core end of the escarole off and place the leaves in a large bowl filled with cold water. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Scoop the leaves out and place in a colander. Roughly chop the leaves — you don’t want the leaves to be teensy, but you don’t want them to be so large that they are falling out of your spoon either.
- Meanwhile, brown the sausage over medium heat in a skillet. (No need to add any oil to the pan to brown it — the fat from the sausage should be enough.) Once it is mostly cooked through, transfer it to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
- Add 2 cups of white beans to the soup pot. Add a half pound of the escarole to the pot. Pat it down with a wooden spoon so that it’s submerged. Once it has wilted, add the sausage. Stir. If the soup looks like it needs more beans and greens, add them; if you like your soup on the brothier side, let it be. (Note: I add the full pound of greens and 3 cups of beans.) Simmer 15 minutes.Taste the broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Note: This soup gets better with every passing day. As it sits in the fridge, the sausage (and the Parmigiano rind if you are using it) really flavors the broth.
