• Cooking Time: 3-4hrs
• Servings: 6
• 1/2 lb sage or breakfast sausage
• handful finely chopped jowl bacon
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp each of:
• cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, nutmeg, dried cilantro
• salt to taste
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can white beans (cannelli or navy)
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 carton (6 cups or so) chicken stock
• 1/2 bag frozen greens & turnips

1. Partially brown the sausage in a large dutch oven, adding the bacon, onion, garlic and spices before completely cooked, to carmelize them as well.
2. When meat is browned and all is carmelized and fragrant, add remaining ingredients EXCEPT for frozen greens & turnips, stirring to blend well. Cook a minimum of 3 hrs, adding add'l stock if needed or to be of the consistency you prefer; these types of "soups" will thicken up in the refrigerator, too.
3. Approx 1/2hr or 1hr before serving, add the frozen greens; you CAN add them at the onset of cooking and it will taste just fine, BUT- the longer you cook greens, the duller they become in color.
4. So, if you are serving to impress, add later in the process. If you are cooking for yourself and your family, it is FINE to add with the beans and tomatoes, etc.
5. Serve with some nice, crusty bread & butter.
6. These soups keep & reheat well for days, but you may need to add a bit of water as time goes by as they will thicken due to the starch content of the beans. ALSO- they get BETTER with age! This soup tastes best 2 days later out of the frig, after the flavors have married and the beans have steeped in them.

I am the Goddess of Peasant Cuisine (so I am told), and beans are one of my FAVORITE peasant foods. I have invented a number of hearty, rustic dishes just by throwing ingredients together using a basic formula: meat, stock, beans, spice and veggies. There are innumerable combinations of this possible; this is one that I've recently documented. NOTES: you can use canned beans, OR soak a half of a standard bag of dried product overnight and then boil til soft the next day- whatever your preference! I'll note CANNED beans in recipes. I refer to 14.5 to 16oz (standard grocery store-fare) size packages in this recipe.