Simple White Bean Chili Recipe That Warms Your Soul (With Fresh Herbs)

My favorite bean soup or chili is a white bean and sausage soup/stew situation. It's so versatile, you can add a variety of veggies or for that matter meats while keeping the integrity of the white bean flavor. Because it cooks for a long time all of the veggies, sausage and spices mellow out so that not one single ingredient overpowers the subtle flavor of the white bean. Can you tell I love white beans?

White Bean Chili/Stew Ingredients:
2 (540 ml, 19 oz) cans of cannellini (white kidney) beans drained and rinsed
5 Italian sausages removed from the casings and chopped into medium chunks
2 small or a medium potato, diced
1 medium or 2 small yellow onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 liter chicken broth
Kale or spinach - as much as you like. Keep in mind that kale doesn't cook down as much as spinach
Rind of Parmigiano Reggiano
2-3 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder
Salt & black pepper to taste.

1. In a large pot sauté the sausages until cooked, remove from pot and set aside. In the same fat that remained from the sausages, sauté the onions until they are tender. Depending on the fat content of the sausages, you may need to add a bit more oil to the pot.

2. Once the onions are tender, add the grated carrot and diced pepper and sauté for a few minutes until the carrots have lost their raw appearance.

3. Add your spices and let them cook out for about a minute. You need to make sure there is enough oil in the pot, so the spices don't burn.

4. Return the sausages to the pot, add the drained beans, kale, bay leaves, parm rind and stir to combine. Cover and cook on medium low for 1 hour.

5. Ater an hour, taste it and make any adjustments for seasoning, add the potatoes and cook for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. You can mash up the potatoes and some of the beans to add texture to the dish.

Focaccia Ingredients:
A baking tray that measures 10 x 14 in (25 x 35 cm)
500 g bread flour
12 g fresh yeast OR 4-6 g active dry yeast (better 4g during summer or if your kitchen is warm)
1 tsp honey
400 g lukewarm water
2 tbsp EVOO for the dough
2 tsp of salt
additional EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) for the baking tray and the top
some water for the top
coarse salt for the top

Because I added toppings like cherry tomatoes and fresh rosemary to the focaccia, I baked it in a preheated oven set to 425F (220C) for 30 minutes. I didn't' bake it a higher temp as the original recipe states for fear of charring the tomatoes and rosemary.
Recipe link for Easiest Same Day Focaccia    • The EASIEST SAME DAY FOCACCIA that really ...  

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