As much as I love seasonal foods, this soup is perfect year round. I love how light this soup is yet still has hearty vegetables and sausage, turkey sausage that is, that will please a crowd. Of course you can make this with dried herbs, but I love with a burning passion fresh herbs. You cannot preserve the flavor of fresh herbs I don’t care how hard you try it…it is just not the same. Many canned soups, sauces, and such are decent but missing a fresh element. The freshness factor in this soup is that beautiful variety of fresh herbs. Soup can be boring and bland (nothing is worse that a broth with a few vegetables in it) and I don’t want to disappoint! Try this and experiment with your favorite fresh herbs. You may also wish to sub the spinach for kale. Kale holds its shape nicely in soups much stronger than spinach and has that great texture. Enjoy:)

Ingredients:
8 oz. Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
2 cans pinto beans
1 can fired roasted tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 5 oz. package fresh spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 spring fresh oregano, rosemary, and thyme
Fresh Basil for garnish ~ 3-4 leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Train and rinse pinto beans. Puree one can of the pinto beans until smooth. Set both whole and mashed beans aside.
2. Heat oil in a large sauce pan or Dutch Oven and cook sausages until browned, breaking the meat into course crumbles. Add onion and sweet potato for 3-5 minutes until onion is softened. Add more oil if needed.
3. Tie together the fresh herbs or create an herb sachet. Add the herbs, both pureed and whole beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the soup has boiled, reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes in a covered saucepan.
4. Stir in fresh spinach and let cook for 5 minutes. Add any desired salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls top with freshly chopped basil.