Canellini Bean / Chard Soup

I was just reading the Rookie post about Swiss Chard, and lamenting the fact that I won't have room for it this year, (another reason to put in another SFG next year), because I love it. So I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes that uses chard. I don't know about where you are, but here in my neck of the woods, it's still soup weather, and I'm making some of this later today. It's one of my favorite soups, hearty and rich and deeeelicious. Enjoy!

Canellini Bean/Chard Soup

1 onion
garlic ( a little or a lot, depending on your taste)
1pkg. turkey Italian sausage, removed from casing (I like the hot one!)
7 cups stock, or water and bouillon cubes
1 bunch Swiss chard
2 russet potatoes
2 cans canellini beans
1 lg. can diced tomatoes

Dice onion and garlic and saute in a bit of olive oil, in a large soup pot. Remove sausage from its casing, and add to the pan. Cook until it's not pink any more, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add about seven cups of stock, or water and some bouillon cubes. Add the can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a simmer. Dice potatoes, (I leave the skin on) and add to the pot. While potatoes are getting tender, wash and chop the chard. ( I like to use rainbow chard, and I add the stems too, but you can use any kind you like. Actually if you don't like chard for some reason, or can't find it in your grocery store, baby spinach works as well.) Add chard to the pot, and cook until potatoes and chard are tender. This doesn't take long. When they are done, rinse the canellini beans, and add to the pot. If you like thicker soup, cook another potato in the microwave, and when done, scoop it out of it's shell, mash, and add to the soup. Because I like everything hot, I add some crushed red pepper, but that's optional.

Yummo!  Canellini beans are my all time favorite!  What do you think about switching out the chard or spinach occasionally for say, collards or kale?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Yummo!  Canellini beans are my all time favorite!  What do you think about switching out the chard or spinach occasionally for say, collards or kale?

CC

Yes, I love canellini beans too. Actually, any greens you like would work, my only reservations about the kale and collards, especially the collards, is that they take much longer to cook. The chard and spinach are almost immediately tender. But I don't see why you couldn't give them a little head start.

Hammock girl, thanks for posting that recipe! I will definitely try it, and it sounds delish...I was in a Swiss Chard withdrawal for the past several years, could not grow it in my perennial bed...crappy clay soil and inattention. Over compensated by planting in front of my pole beans...too much chard! And now I know how to be better prepared to preserve it. Loves my chard!

It's a good basic recipe that can be tweaked depending on circumstances. Thank you for posting.

Thank you so much Hammock, it sounds really delicious, I would try your recipe to make this for my family and hope they love it. 

anhtran313 wrote:Thank you so much Hammock, it sounds really delicious, I would try your recipe to make this for my family and hope they love it. 

This your first post, so
anhtran313 
from Kelejan in Canada

Anhtran, Welcome to the Forum from California!