Zuppa Salsiccia

With my days being spent largely at home or in the playground, wearing clothes special enough to yammer about on the internet isn't always a reasonable task. True, I do try to present myself well on a daily basis, but these days that only requires a shirt with buttons. So instead, today we have a delicious recipe that I made up myself (sort of): Italian Sausage Soup, with cannelini beans and spinach.

This one calls for a simple list of ingredients, many canned or frozen. I used to hate that kind of stuff, until I worked in a "gourmet" kitchen and learned the benefits of careful cheating.
One package of sweet Italian sausages, two small onions, one can of diced tomatoes, two cans of cannelini beans (white kidney beans), one package of frozen spinach, one can of chicken broth.

Star by cutting the sausages into four pieces each, then brown the pieces in a large pot in some olive oil:Meanwhile, cut the onions, leaving them in fairly long strips. When the meat is nearly brown on all sides, add the onions, with some course salt and fresh ground pepper, and cook until the onions wilt:add the beans, along with the liquid from the cans:then the tomatoes, and the juice from the can:along with the chicken broth, and some water if needed to thin it to the desired consistency. Put the lid on, bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer for about an hour. Add the frozen spinach, and cook for ten minutes more:Good soup is all about layering ingredients in the proper order, then simmering. I find it also helps to let the whole thing settle, allowing the flavors to mingle. Soup is often better the next day, but you can achieve this by preparing the soup at lunchtime, before eating it for dinner.

Serve hot, topped with fresh grated sharp cheese, such as Parmiggiano or Pecorino Romano, with buttered crusty bread and a juice glass full of inexpensive red Italian wine.That's my kind of comfort food.