Description
Inspired by a soup served at Gershon’s, a famous deli just down the road. If you have cooked beans on hand and homemade chicken stock on hand, this soup comes together in a flash, and, like most soups, tastes better with time. Here the flavor of the sausage infuses the broth slowly, making it tastier with each passing day.
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 cups homemade chicken stock
- 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 (or two 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
Instructions
- 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 flavor the broth.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian