TAKES 30 MIN • MAKES 6
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 16 oz tubes ground sausage
- 1 16 oz can kidney beans
- 1 16 oz can cannellini beans
- 1 16 oz can baby carrots
- 1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
Directions
- Cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
- In a Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic and cook until browned. Pour off drippings.
- Add kidney beans, cannellini beans, baby carrots, stewed tomatoes, parsley flakes and red wine, if desired. Let simmer over low heat 15 minutes or longer until flavors are blended.
- Crumble bacon on top. Serve in soup bowls with crusty french bread.
Erika’s modifications:
This dish is so deliciously hearty and rich, I like to make a few healthier modifications to avoid zonking out at the dinner table mid-spoonful. I prefer to only use 1 tube of sausage (italian style), and if I can find it I’ll even buy fresh sausages and just remove the casings (one lengthwise vertical slit with a sharp does the trick). I’ve never been able to find cans of baby carrots so I use 2 cups of very thinly sliced fresh carrots (whole baby carrots work too, you’ll just need to pre-cook them before adding). I like to substitute fresh parsley instead of dried to get a little more flavor, and I usually add a healthy pinch of sage to make the dish a bit more aromatic. Finally, I always add red wine – I like to use a dry Cabernet or Pinot Noir.
