Sausage and bean soup recipe

Serve this soup with crusty bread and it's almost as filling as a casserole. 

We've packed this sausage and bean soup with so many rich and delicious flavours. Firstly, there are the Toulouse sausages: large, fresh sausages from the South of France. They are usually made with a mix of pork belly and lean pork meat, plus garlic and red wine for a really decadent flavour. Look for them in butchers or in the fresh delis at supermarkets. If you can't find them, any tasty, thick sausages will work. Alternatively go for sausages that have a little chilli or spiciness to them. The meaty flavour is lovely alongside the red wine, garlic and fat shallot onions.

This recipe is part of our cheap family meals collection – under £1 a head

Ingredients

• 12 shallots, peeled and left whole
• 8 Toulouse sausages or spicy/Lincolnshire sausage
• 2 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 400g borlotti beans
• 150g shredded Savoy cabbage
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 100ml red wine
• Black pepper and sea salt
• Bay leaf

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy based sauté pan or saucepan and add the shallots and sausages and sauté for 4-5 mins, browning them all over. Add the carrots and sauté for a further 3 mins, not colouring them too much. Add the garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes, beans, half the wine, stock, bay leaf, season well with sea salt and black pepper.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for a further 15 mins on a low heat. If the soup becomes too thick, add a little more stock, then add the finely shredded cabbage, parsley and the rest of the red wine. Mix well and cook for a further 5 mins, until the cabbage is just cooked.
3. Slice the sausages into three, place in a bowl, and pour over all the bean soup. Season to taste. Serve with crusty bread and chopped parsley.

Top tip for making sausage and bean soup:

This is a really chunky soup, with a thin liquid base. If you like your soups a little thicker, add a little cornflower when you're browning the vegetables, or stir in some leftover mashed potato.