Creamy White Bean Soup with Sausage
This creamy white bean soup with sausage is peak autumn comfort. It's a little spicy, smoky, and rich thanks to Alubia Blanca beans that it'll warm you right up on a cold day.
Ingredients
- 1 cupdry alubia blanca or navy beans; or use 2 15-ounce cans navy beans
- 2bay leaves
- 2 tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 12 ouncesandouille sausage (sliced into thin rounds)
- 1yellow onion (peeled and diced)
- 2 largecarrots (peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into half-moons)
- 3ribs celery with leaves (trimmed and diced)
- 2 tablespoonsbutter
- 1 teaspoonpiment d’ville or smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoongarlic powder
- ¼ teaspooncrushed red peppers
- 2thyme sprigs ( or 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme)
- 3 cupswater
- 4 ouncesmustard greens or curly kale leaves (washed and roughly chopped)
- ¼ cupheavy cream
- ½lemon (juiced)
- parmesan cheese and toasted bread (optional, for serving)
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cook the beans:
- 1
Place the beans in a large pot with the bay leaves. Cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 1–3 hours or until the beans are very soft. Add more water, if needed.
- 2
Turn off the heat and let cool, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes. Pluck out the bay leaves and discard them. Stir in a big pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Pour the beans and any remaining liquid (it should not be a lot; maybe 1 cup or so) from the pot into a large bowl. Wash out the pot and return it to the stovetop.
Cook the sausage:
- 1
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to char in places.
Cook the aromatics:
- 1
Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot with the sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7–8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- 2
Move the sausage and vegetables to one side of the pot. Melt the butter on the other side of the pot. Once frothy, add the piment d’ville, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and the thyme sprigs. Cook for 30 seconds in the butter until fragrant. Stir to coat everything in the pot with the spice mixture.
Simmer the soup:
- 1
Pour the cooked beans and their liquid into the pot and toss to coat. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender. Only add the remaining 1 cup water as needed.
Finish the soup:
- 1
Taste the soup and season once more. Add the chopped mustard greens and heavy cream and increase the heat to medium. Once the liquid is bubbling and the greens are bright green, turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
To serve:
- 1
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with toasted bread. Enjoy!