White Bean Stew with Sausage and Spinach

Cooking Light. I had dried white butter beans so we used those, and also substituted spinach (just putting it in later) for the kale. Also good with cheese, and delicious with the cheesey toast.

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  vegetable oil
• 1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic
• 4  (2-ounce) smoked turkey and duck sausages with fennel, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (such as Gerhard's)
• 1  cup  water
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2  (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 4  cups  bagged chopped kale
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 6  tablespoons  (1 1/2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese
• 6  (1-ounce) slices French bread baguette

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sausage; sauté 1 minute. Add water, broth, and beans; bring to a boil. Stir in kale, black pepper, red pepper, and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

While soup simmers, sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese over each bread slice; broil 1 minute or until cheese melts. Serve toasts with soup.