When a New York local asks you if you want to tag along to buy Kielbasa for Easter from a family-owned butcher in Brooklyn, you go... obviously! And, you buy a large cut.
Upon returning home, it was used in our favorite kielbasa soup. It is a variation of a soup from Bon Appetit we have been cooking for years.
Recipe
3-4 tablespoons olive oil in soup pan to saute kielbasa
10 ounces cooked smoked kielbasa
4-5 garlic cloves - chopped
1 red onion - sliced
2 large fennel bulbs- sliced - I like to keep the oval shape
8 strands of thyme - pulled from stalk
5 shakes of crushed red peppar
2 boxes of 32 oz chicken broth or stock
1 large handful baby spinach in each bowl
2 cans 15-ounce cannellini beans
1 9 oz package of cheese tortilini or 1 9 oz box of gluton free pasta
1 cup grated coarse parmesan cheese
Heat oil on medium heat and add Kielbasa. Saute until browned. Once Kielbasa is browned, add leeks, onions and garlic. Saute all until golden brown.
Add beans and thyme
Add chicken stock or broth and almost boil for a few minutes while stirring. Reduce heat to simmer.
Cook tortillini or noodles separately.
Once tortilli is cooked, add a spoonful to each bowl on top of the raw spinach. Latel soup on top of spinach until spinach and noodles are covered in broth. Once tortilli is cooked, add a spoonful to each bowl on top of the raw spinach.
Sprinkle on parmesan cheese
