Bramasole Soup

So named by my sister Magpie because I made it on a rainy day. Bramasole (apart from being the name of the house in Frances Mayes wonderful books, Under The Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany) means "yearning for the sun." I thought it was a perfect sentiment for the improvised pot of loveliness I made this past Monday night. I am a huge fan of Tuscan white bean soup but hadn't personally made it before and when I went searching for a recipe I didn't find anything that particularly struck my fancy. So I decided to just make it up. Unfortunately we ate the whole pot before I thought to take a picture, which is quite sad as it was full of color and gorgeous when plated with the cornbread that went along with it. I think maybe next time I will try polenta fries instead. Hope you enjoy the recipe...

Bramasole Soup (aka happy rainy day soup!)

Olive oil

1 large yellow onion (halved and sliced)

4 cloves garlic (minced)
salt & pepper

3 medium red potatoes (1/2 inch cubed)

Sweet Italian sausage (with sage if possible)

1 can cannellini beans (drained not rinsed)

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes (completely drained and roughly chopped)

1 bag baby spinach

2 cups water

3 cups chicken stock

3 tbsp or more Italian seasoning (or fresh italian herbs, whatever is more readily available)

1. Heat olive oil in stock pot. Add onions salt and pepper. Cook onions 4-5 minutes.

2. Add garlic, continue to sauté for a few minutes and then add potatoes. It's fine if the skins stick a bit. This will come up once you've added your liquid.

3. Add sausage. Let this mixture cook for about 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring.

4. Add water, chicken stock, and Italian seasoning. Let simmer

5. When you've got about 10 minutes left, add the beans and tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes

6. Add spinach, cook until just wilted. Simmer on low until ready to serve.

*I'm trying to decide whether the potatoes need to be a smaller dice, or eliminated completely. If anyone tries this out please let me know what you think. :) *

Please forgive my horrible recipe writing skills. I'll get better I promise!