White Bean and Sausage Soup with Swiss Chard, Gluten Free

"Soup of the evening, beautiful..." Lewis Carroll

T.G.I.F! Wouldn't you agree, my trusty followers?
Well, 'Soup Month' is still on and I think it's been a pretty exciting month, thus far! Talking to people around town has made me realise that there is quite the soup loving crowd out there! Making soup is easy and the more you make it, the more adventurous you become. I pride myself on being the 'MacGyver' of the kitchen, which means I can make something out of next to nothing. I certainly feel this way with soup, but there was a time in which it intimidated the heck out of me! Years ago I worked at a tiny restaurant in which the owner liked to have a new soup every other day on the menu. She would rarely bring in any new ingredients, so I had to make due with what was around. I remember how scared I was at the beginning and simply tried to remake the soups we had studied at Chef school. As you have guessed, that didn't last very long and soon enough I was left to my own devices. A quick peek at the restaurant's pantry, fridge and freezer forced me to be creative and gave me a challenge that I loved, and I still do! Today's soup started with a few of those peeks for ingredients about 2 hours ago and here I am now, sharing my creation with you all! Isn't cooking fun?!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

White Bean and Sausage Soup with Swiss Chard
(serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, rough chop
1 leek, white part only, rough chop
2 garlic cloves, rough chop
2 sausages, meat removed from casings (I used gluten free Bratwurst)
2 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
1 tin (540 ml) white kidney beans
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock (can be found on my 'Recipes' page), or water
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
2 cups Swiss chard, rough chop
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chop
1/4 tsp rosemary, chop (dried or fresh)
Parmesan cheese

.heat the oil in a pot on medium heat, add the onion, leek, garlic, sausage, thyme, bay leaf with a pinch of salt and pepper
.cover with a lid, stir occasionally and cook for about 5 mins, until the onions are soft
.pour in the stock, bring to the boil, partially cover and simmer on medium low for 30 mins
.turn the soup off, stir in the chard, half the parsley and the rosemary, adjust seasoning
.ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle over remaining parsley, some Parmesan cheese and a grind of pepper, enjoy!

This soup is perfect for a chilly evening like tonight, don't you think? It's quick and easy to make and as always, open to your own interpretation. Use a different type of sausage, use spinach or rapini instead of the chard or use a different cheese. Hey, wouldn't homemade croutons be fantastic with this soup (recipe found below this one!)?! Don't be intimidated by soup like I used to be, just relax and experiment. Alrighty followers, the last week of 'Soup Month' will start on Monday... I've got three great soups lined up and I promise, they will all be tasty! Have a great weekend, make some stock on Sunday (I know I will!), and we'll meet again on Monday! Bye!

P.S. Look what I discovered online! Jane Rodmell and I were 'twittered' during one of our cooking demos at the fall 'Cottage Life Show!' Crazy!
http://twitpic.com/3aq84e