This morning we woke up to rain in San Diego. It was chilly, rainy and all around gloomy – which makes for the perfect day to make a stew for dinner. I decided I would make a sweet Italian chicken sausage, white bean and kale stew on this chilly day and my husband, Dennis loved it!

There’s a market I like to shop at in San Diego called Sprouts Farmers Market. I do most of my grocery shopping at both Sprouts and Trader Joe’s. Sprouts has the best sweet Italian Chicken Sausages! I tend to use this chicken Italian sausage for many different dishes, including homemade pizza. I’ve actually waited in the store for them to make more when they were out, these sausages are that good! If you look in my freezer at any given time, you will probably find a package of these sweet Italians. Dennis and I both prefer chicken sausages over pork because they are lower in fat and calories and we generally like the flavor of the chicken a little more.

This stew didn’t actually take very long to make, which is nice for a weeknight. However, you could make this dish for friends on a weekend and they’d think you’d been cooking in the kitchen most of the afternoon.

I started by browning the sausages in a couple tablespoons of olive oil in my Dutch oven. Once they had browned on both sides, I moved them to a pan and into a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Once the internal temperature had reached 165, they were done.

As the sausages were browning, I diced a sweet, yellow onion, 5 large carrots, and minced 6 large cloves of garlic.

In the same pan that I had browned the sausages, I added the onion and carrots, along with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and cooked the onion and carrots until they were crisp tender, about 5 minutes. I then added the garlic and sautéd that for just under a minute.

Next, I added two cans of white beans that I had drained and rinsed and two cans of diced tomatoes. After stirring the beans and tomatoes into the onion mixture, I added three tablespoons of tomato paste and poured two cups of reduced sodium chicken broth and one cup of white wine into the pan. I added two bunches of kale (taken off the stem and torn into bite size pieces), as well as an additional teaspoon of kosher salt, an additional teaspoon of pepper, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan. After the kale had reduced and become softened, I sliced the Italian sausages and added them into the pan.

I let the pot simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

When it was done, I ladeled it into serving bowls, topping each dish with freshly grated and shaved parmesan, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.

This dinner was comfort food at its best! Even though I’d classify this dish as comfort food, it was low in fat and calories and high in protein. It was perfectly healthy and definitely satisfying.

Ingredients

1-1/4 – 1-1/2 pounds sweet Italian chicken sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a drizzle

1 medium sweet, yellow onion, diced

2 cups of diced carrots

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup white wine

2 cans Canellini beans

2 cans diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

2 bunches kale

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon pepper, divided

1 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven. Add chicken sausages and brown on both sides. Transfer to a pan and place into a preheated 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
2. In same pan you cooked sausages, add onion, carrots, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and cook until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook no longer than 1 minute.
3. Add drained beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste to Dutch oven. Pour chicken broth and wine into pot and stir.
4. Place kale into pot, along with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoons pepper, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Stir.
5. Add grated parmesan and stir again. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 15-30 minutes.
6. Place sliced, cooked sausages into pot and combine into bean mixture. Serve in bowls with freshly shaved and grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris