Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup

Ingredients

For 8 servings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound homemade sweet Italian sausage ((click link for recipe - it's super easy and SO much better than store-bought!))
• 1 medium yellow onion (, finely chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (, minced)
• 2 large carrots (, chopped)
• 2 large ribs celery (, chopped)
• 1 large potato (optional) (, diced)
• 2 Roma or other medium-sized tomatoes (, chopped)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 pound dried cannellini beans (, soaked overnight in water, drained and rinsed (can substitute great northern beans))
• 8 cups quality chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried ground sage
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bunches lacinato kale (aka Tuscan kale) (, tough ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped)