We’ve all got that one recipe. That recipe that somehow never tires and is especially welcome on days when thinking about dinner is insurmountable. That recipe that makes its way into the dinner rotation just about every week with, perhaps, small variations, but is repeatable from memory. That recipe that becomes a house specialty.
In this writer’s house, “that recipe” is one adapted from a reader submission on the cooking and lifestyle site Food52 for roasted kale, white beans and Italian sausage, all dredged in a smoky, lemony olive oil mixture that is, as they say, far greater than the sum of its parts.
What you’ll find below is not that recipe. Try as I might to adapt it to 5:30 Challenge parameters, it’ll never get there, time- or ingredient-wise, without immense sacrifice. However, what it can be is a source of inspiration for another dish entirely, that of a white bean soup with almost exactly the same seasonings. It plays the part well, and is vegetarian to boot.
The pantry-friendly trio of smoked paprika, Dijon mustard and lemon (zest and juice, of course) livens up ordinary canned white beans, and a big blast of garlic — almost a whole head, thinly sliced and softened — hints at the flavor of Italian sausage. Of course, bean soup would not be bean soup without a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, so use the best you’ve got, especially when drizzling on that final touch.
You can serve the soup with salad or bread or both, and you can sprinkle on some fresh parsley if you crave greenery. But really the only other thing you must do is to take the time to smash about half of the simmered beans into the broth to give the soup some body. Without this step, you’ll find the broth thin and wanting, so consider it your moment to smash out a week’s worth of stress. Then you can really enjoy dinner.
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