White Bean and Chorizo Soup

It is that good!!!

We have a new alternative to the Food Channel, called the Cooking Channel. I am hooked and the DVR is burning up, recording shows everyday! The shows are a little more out there and many of the chefs are from other countries. One show I really like is Bill's Food (and Bill's Holiday)...he is from Australia. He had a show about rainy days and making something yummy from things you have on hand...sounds like the perfect episode! I was looking to introduce some new tastes.....and the chorizo (a spicy pork sausage..that is also awesome on pizza...which is where I first had it as a teen) and bean soup sounded great.

White Bean and Chorizo Soup

Olive Oil, for sauteing

5oz Chorzi sausage....I used a whole 16oz package

1 onion chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed...I love garlic and used 4!

2t Thyme.....fresh would be great, but all I had was dry

1t paprika, mine was a smoked paprika

2 diced tomates...I used a 15oz can of diced tomatoes

4c chicken stock

2 cans of white beans...I used white kidney beans for this soup

salt and pepper to taste

***I added a couple things at the end****

I tossed in some mini bowtie pasta (Barilla) during the last simmer

I garnished with freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions...

Heat olive oil (1t or so) and saute sausage until done, drain the sausage on a paper towel...this sausage is fatty, it is important to drain off the fat.

Return the pan to the cook top, add a little oil, and make sure the heat is down to med-low...add onion and celery, and cook until softened...6-7 minutes, add garlic, thyme and paprika, and saute until herbs are fragrant, not very long at all. Add tomatoes and cook another minute.

Add chorizo back to the pan with chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add beans. and simmer another 5 minutes. ****This is when I added the pasta (about a cup of small bowtie pasta) and I simmer until pasta is done. Add salt and pepper to taste. We sprinkled fresh grated parmesan when we served it.

This soup is spicy, and delicious. Elliott even liked it. I added the pasta to make it a little more hearty....summer has evaded us here on the North Coast....and a hearty soup can be served any time. This soup is fairly cheap to make as well, I had almost everything in the pantry (or fridge) except the chorizo and I forgot to buy the chicken stock...thanks Cirrus for the save!!