Spinach, White Bean and Turkey Sausage Soup

It is the season for soups and I have been finding myself thinking about them more often lately. I was in the mood for a nice light soup and I kept coming back to a spinach and white bean soup for some reason. I was thinking that I could go one of two different ways. The first way was going to be a really light soup with pretty much just the beans, spinach and fresh herbs where I pureed half of the beans along with some broth to make the soup nice and creamy. The second way I was thinking about making the soup a bit more hearty by adding some turkey sausage and not pureeing the beans. In the end I decided to go with the turkey sausage version as I was thinking about all of the flavour that they would add to the soup. Other than the main ingredients I kept the soup pretty simple, though I did add some parmigiano reggiano rinds that I had on hand. The soup came together quickly and easily and it was full of flavour! It was light and yet satisfying. I liked the way the creamy white beans worked with the spinach in the tasty broth. I served the spinach, white bean and turkey sausage soup with some whole wheat toasted cheesy garlic bread which was great when dipped into the soup. While I was eating the soup I was thinking that you could make it even heartier if you added some farro or even a small whole wheat pasta like macaroni. One of the best things about soups is that the leftovers make for even quicker tasty meals on cold winter's days.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage (casing removed and crumbled)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
4 cups chicken stock
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 bunch spinach (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the sausage and cook until no longer pink and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in the same pan.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and red chili pepper flakes and saute for another minute.
6. Add the sausage, stock, beans, oregano, and bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Add the spinach and simmer until it wilts.
8. Add the lemon juice and remove from heat.

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Turkey White Chili
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