Grandma's Minestra

I loved this soup growing up- such a heartwarming, nourishing soup. Now, there were some things about this soup that I didn't like when my grandmother made it, so I've tweaked the recipe (what I can remember from childhood), and it comes pretty close. This is very much a 'dump everything into the pot' soup, but it works.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup  chopped bacon
• 2  red onions, coarsely chopped
• 5  garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 3  cups greens, chopped (swiss chard, mustard, any will do)
• 4  cups water (more or less, depending on how thick you want it)
• 1  chicken bouillon cube
• 5  large carrots, chopped
• 5  new potatoes, chopped (you can peel them if you want, I leave the skin on. This is not a lot of potatoes, as I don't care f)
• 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6  sausages, cut into slices (I prefer to do this with frozen raw sausages, they're much easier to slice)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄8-1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Brown bacon in a large, heavy pot.
2. Once bacon is browned, add garlic and onions.
3. Saute garlic and onions until translucent.
4. Add cannelini beans and greens, mixing to incorporate.
5. Add water, boullion cube, carrots, potatoes, herbs and raw sausage slices. Bring to a boil.
6. Once soup has boiled, reduce heat and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes.
7. Once sausages are cooked through, add salt and peppers to taste.
8. Great served on its own, or with a loaf of crusty Italian bread.