Kielbasa and Northern White Bean Soup

The weather here in Oregon has turned gray and rainy so I decided to make soup! We made a special trip to Otto's in Portland, where they make and sell specialty sausages, meats, etc. (actually we were in town to pick out the slab granite for my new counter tops, whooo hoo).

Anyway, my husband bought some of each kind of sausage they sell, we came home and my thoughts turned to soup! I decided to use the Kielbasa Sausage and Northern White Beans, which I have not cooked with before.

It turned out tasty and delicious, I highly recommend pairing these two items!

Here is what you will need to make it!

p.s. I actually used canned low salt broth, I was too lazy to make it or thaw some from my freezer.

3 sliced Kielbasa Sausages (mine were fresh ground, but you could use the other kind if needed)
1 16 oz sack Northern White Beans
5-6 cans of low sodium chicken broth
1/2 onion diced
4 stalks celery diced
5 medium carrots diced
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Rosemary and Thyme to taste
Olive Oil
1/2 a bag of Spinach

I am a big believer in soaking your beans overnight, so soak them in cold water (which covers the beans), overnight then drain

Place 2 tbl olive oil in your soup pot and saute the sausage until caramelized, remove and set aside

Place the vegetables into the pan, adding more oil if needed and saute till the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes)

Add your sausage back in, then the beans and chicken stock (you want the stock well above the level of the beans, etc)

Place your Bay Leaf in and add salt, pepper, dash of Thyme and some Rosemary (I ground mine first in my mortar and pestle)

Let cook, removing scum as it comes to the top

Continue to cook until the beans are the level of tenderness you desire

Place the Spinach in the soup and cook for an additional 10 minutes

Serve with fresh rolls