Nothing says cold winter day better than a pot of beans cooking all afternoon. And when I say, all afternoon, I don't mean standing over the stove baby sitting them. This wonderful soup is a low maintenance meal that you will cook again and again. It may sound tough and labor intensive, but give it a chance. I enjoy cooking throughout the day and warming up at the end of the night with a hot bowl of soup and nice glass of vino.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dried Great Northern white beans
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 lb turkey sausage (kind of like kielbasa)
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 bunch of greens, stems removed and chopped....feel free to experiment with this one...but my preference is collard greens
to taste: salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
Directions:
1. Place the beans in your soup pot with enough water to cover them. Covered, bring to a boil and then turn off heat. Let the beans stand at least one hour.
2. Drain the beans and set aside. In the same soup pot, add the onion, bell pepper and sausage. Cook until the vegetables and sausage are slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the beans, chicken broth and water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
4. Add the greens, salt and pepper. Stir well and continue cooking over low heat, covered, until the greens are tender. Another 30-45 minutes.
*I normally start step one when I get up and just leave them in the warm water until I'm ready to start the remainder of the steps.
*The greens may seem like a lot but they really cook down. If this is your first time using them, feel free to use less. We just found ourselves really enjoying them so every time I make this I end up adding more and more.
*There are recipes out there using canned beans that don't take near as long...but I just find this slow cooked meal really self-gratifying, extra yummy and relaxing. Plus, no sodium in dried beans like there can be in the canned ones.
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