Food & Recipes: Welcome autumn with chicken-apple sausage soup

We survived summer. Autumn has officially arrived, bringing cooler weather, earlier sunsets, hoodies, warm drinks and all the cozy fall things.

To welcome the season properly, I’m turning my attention to one of autumn’s unsung kitchen heroes: chicken-apple sausage.

This versatile convenience balances rich, savory flavor with a subtle sweetness that feels right at home beside cabbage, onions, winter squash, sweet potatoes and, of course, more apples.

You can grill the links and tuck them into buns. Roast them whole with cabbage, onions and apples for a braised-style supper.

Slice them onto a sheet pan with sweet potatoes, or saute slices and add toothpicks for an easy appetizer. Chicken-apple sausage travels happily from skillet to soup pot to party.

Its subtle sweetness pairs beautifully with mustard and cabbage, rosemary and potatoes, sage and squash, or garlic and white beans.

That flexibility matters when the plan is less “follow a recipe” and more “please turn these groceries into dinner before we eat dry cereal over the sink.”

Its greatest virtue is speed. Most chicken-apple sausage sold in supermarkets is already fully cooked, so check the package.

With fully cooked sausage, you are browning and heating it rather than cooking raw meat. Once the accompanying vegetables are tender and the sausage is hot, dinner is ready.

Anyone who has stared into the refrigerator at 5:47 p.m. will recognize this as a small kitchen miracle.

Chicken sausage can also be leaner than traditional pork sausage, although recipes and nutrition numbers vary considerably. Compare labels, particularly for saturated fat and sodium, and choose the one that suits your needs and budget.

This week’s soup puts our autumn overachiever to excellent use. Cannellini beans provide protein, fiber and creaminess without actual cream.

Spinach brings color and vegetables to the proceedings. The apple echoes the sweetness in the sausage and softens into the savory broth.

The whole pot takes about 25 minutes and works equally well for lunch, dinner or the freezer. The timing assumes an average chopping pace. Speedy choppers may finish sooner; slower choppers should allow a few extra minutes.

If you plan to freeze it, cool the soup promptly and portion it into freezer-safe containers.

This soup is warm, hearty and full of fall flavor. In other words, it announces autumn with much less effort than washing the musty smell out of all your sweaters or decorating the porch.

Chicken Sausage And Apple Soup

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 fully cooked chicken-apple sausage links, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 apple, any variety, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

4 cups (32-ounce) chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach

Sliced green onions, to garnish

Optional: Add 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper with the sausage and/or 1 cup finely diced sweet potato with the broth.

Procedure

Warm the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and apple. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until the sausage begins to brown.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the beans, broth, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately, topped with sliced green onions if desired.