Italian-ish Stew

Originally posted to full of veggies on 12/3/06

Italian-Ish Stew
Yeilds 8 to 10 very filling servings

1.5 lb (dry) great northern or cannelini beans
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
3 med white onions, diced
3 - 4 cloves garlic
2 15 oz cans no-salt diced tomatoes
1 small (2 oz?) can tomato paste
2 cups pearl barley
1 pkg Boca Italian Sausage
1 Tbl italian seasoning
1 Tbl basil
1 Tbl fennel seed
2 tsp rosemary
Water - a lot

1. Soak beans overnight, cook them until tender and portion out into 1 cup servings.

2. Partially defrost Boca Italian Sausage and then grind it up in the food processor until it is fine. Set aside.

3. Water-saute carrots, celery and onion in soup pot until they start to soften. Add in the tomatoes, garlic, and spices, simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Add barley and ground up Boca sausages and enough water to cover... I think I added *about* 10 cups and got a very thick stew-like consistency. Once water is added and soup is simmering, stir in tomato paste. Simmer soup until barley is tender but still chewy.

5. Portion soup out over the cooked beans into containers. Freezes very well.

I would also add some greens to this recipe at meal time - fresh spinach or escarole or add in steamed kale at the end of cooking to get those awesome greens in!

The Boca Italian sausage is not really an ETL ingredient but when spread out over 8 to 10 servings is less than 300mg of sodium per serving (within ETL guidelines). It adds a great flavor to the soup!