The flavorful sausage and bold escarole are filling additions to this French-accented stew. Substitute mustard greens to mimic the bitter flavor of escarole, or use spinach for milder flavor. Serve with a crusty baguette or rolls.
How to Make It
Remove casings from sausage.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add Italian sausage and onion to pan, and cook for 4 minutes or until sausage browns, stirring to crumble. Drain sausage mixture well; return to pan. Stir in potatoes, wine, garlic, beans, and chicken broth; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 7 minutes. Stir in escarole and rosemary, and cook for 4 minutes or until the escarole wilts, stirring occasionally. Ladle 1 1/4 cups soup into each of 4 shallow bowls, and sprinkle each serving evenly with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.
Wine note: The creaminess of the white beans, bitter herbalness of the escarole, and rich meatiness of the sausage are in perfect counterpoint in this dish. In my experiments, when bitter and fat flavors are involved, one of the best wines is often the Italian red Chianti--even in a dish like this that calls for white wine. I love the Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva. The 2002 is $ -Karen MacNeil
Great on a cold night