Hearty Winter Leek Fennel Sausage Minestrone

This is a relatively straight forward, and really well rounded, 1 pot meal. It also makes good use of the wintery vegetables fennel and leek. Max even likes it all whizzed up to a puree. The only time consuming bit is the sauteing of the sausages, which could be done in advance. The rest takes about 20 min.

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g pork sausages
1 big / 2 small bulbs fennel, finely sliced, fronds reserved
1 leek, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 Litre good quality chicken stock (I used Simon Gault)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can butter beans
1 cup cooked macaroni elbows

Method
In a large pot, cook sausages until browned. Transfer to a plate. In the same pot add fennel, leek, garlic, and fennel seeds. Cook about 5 min stirring continuously. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, and browned chopped sausage, and simmer for about 20 min until leeks are well cooked. Add beans and macaroni and cook another couple minutes.