A Welcoming Soup

With temperatures over 100 degrees, it’s definitely summertime in Florida. Which makes it weird that I’m giving you a soup recipe, particularly one bearing hearty winter ingredients such as kale and smoked sausage. But soup is one of those comfort foods you might take to a friend’s house, particularly one you haven’t seen in a while. With soup in hand, you’re always welcome. And I’m hoping you welcome me back to writing.

I’ve been thinking about this soup for a week. I recently read The Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maisto, in which she cooks an excessive number of dishes containing either kale or white beans or both. I have never eaten kale, but have wanted to, and we don’t eat many kidney-type beans around here. But the gusto with which Maisto cooked, ate, and wrote about these ingredients got me thinking. And so I’ve been composing this soup in my mind ever since.

It starts with smoked sausage. Well, no, even before the sausage, this soup starts with tomatoes, a good summertime ingredient. Use them from your garden, if you’re fortunate to have such a thing. Or, if you must procure yours from the supermarket, like I do, ramp up the flavor by roasting them first. The trick to a good roasted tomato is to put the half-sheet pan in the oven while it is pre-heating. When the oiled, salted tomatoes hit the hot pan, the sizzle tells you you’re one step ahead on caramelization. You can roast the tomatoes a day ahead.

So, then, after the tomatoes comes the sausage; slices of it browned on both sides form the flavor base. After that, this soup is pretty straight-forward: aromatics and veggies are cooked in the sausage fat, a little wine deglazes the pot, and the white bean puree thickens the broth. I kept the seasonings simple—using only rosemary, black pepper and garlic—to keep the flavors clean.

Kale and Sausage Soup with Roasted Tomatoes and White Bean Puree
1 pound Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, pulp removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound smoked sausage links, cut into ½-inch thick slices
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then sliced
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bunch kale, ribs removed, leaves roughly chopped
more olive oil, if needed
½ cup white wine, optional
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans cannellini beans, pureed
more kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 425˚. Put a half-sheet pan or jelly roll pan into the oven while it is heating up. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil and salt in a medium bowl. When the oven is hot, slide the pan out and pour the tomatoes onto it. Enjoy the sizzle. With tongs, turn the tomatoes skin side down. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until the skin is lightly charred in places. Remove the tomatoes and then roughly chop them when they are cool enough to handle. Set them aside.

In a Dutch oven, brown the sausage slices on both sides over medium-high heat in batches, removing to a paper towel to drain. Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Add the chopped onions to the hot fat and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are beginning to become translucent, but not browned. Increase heat to medium and add the zucchini, rosemary, and black pepper. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring a time or two. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add half of the kale and stir as the kale on the bottom starts to wilt. When all has more or less wilted a bit, add in the rest of the kale. If it looks a little dry, add more olive oil. When the kale is wilted, but still bright green, deglaze the pan with the wine, if using. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the wine is reduced; then pour in the chicken stock and bean puree. Bring the soup to a low boil; reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes and browned sausage to the pot and simmer another 15 minutes.

If you have it, you can toss a bit of the rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano into the pot as the soup simmers. Your friends will thank you and will probably welcome you back, no matter how long you’ve been gone, and no matter how hot it is outside.