This is sort of a soup, sort of a stew, not a million miles away from my chicken and white bean stew recipe. It is wonderful and hearty from the beans, sausage and the veg, but the broth is relatively light and the tomatoes provide a nice tang along with a hint of lemon and fennel.

There is something about cavolo nero which just makes you feel you are eating pure goodness, I think it is that really deep, rich, green colour that you just know is signalling it is packed with vitamins. Plus it’s a sturdy leaf, not like a wilty salad leaf.  I like that it gives you something to really bite into and chew on in this soup. This recipe is based on one I found on the BBC Good Food website, here, but the first thing I did was pretty much double the amount of kale, I just love it, fits so well in to so many of my favourite dishes for Autumn!

Serves: 2

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 sausages

• 1 tbsp oil for frying

• 1 small red onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves crushed

• ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

• ½ tsp dried fennel seeds

• About 10 cherry tomatoes

• 200g bag cavolo nero, chunkily chopped, but I would suggest discarding the thickest, toughest bits of the stalk

• 1 x 400g can of cannellini beans, drained

• 1 chocken stock cube

• 400ml hot water

• ½ lemon zested, plus juice

Method

1. Remove the sausage meat  from their skins and form in to small meatballs, about 4 meatballs per sausage.

2. Heat the oil in a deep sided frying pan and then fry the sausages on medium heat so they are browned and almost cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add the onion to the pan and fry for a few minutes, then add the garlic, chilli flakes and fennel seeds and fry for another few minutes.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients (cherry tomatoes, cavolo nero, meatballs, lemon juice and zest, cannellini beans, chicken stock cube and hot water). Stir then cover with a lid on medium to low heat and let it bubble away for about 12 minutes. The cavolo nero should be cooked through and wilted, the stalks should not bee too hard to bite through but they will still be a little firm.

5. Add more water if you want a soupier consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

6. Serve with crusty break or on its own.