Sausage and White Bean Soup

We had a couple of rainy days recently, and I decided to look up white bean recipes.  This is one that sounded good, and it was!

2 tbsp olive oil or margarine
1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, in the casing - (five large links)
 
2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto ham, minced
2 med. onions, diced
2 med. carrots, diced
2 med. celery stalks, diced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced

 
4 (15.8 oz) cans great Northern or other white beans, drained
2-3 cans chicken broth
 
Heat oil in large, deep saute pan or soup kettle over med.-high.  When hot, add sausages; cook, turning once or twice, until well-browned on all sides, about 5 min.  (Sausages won't be fully cooked.)  Remove, slice about 1/4-in. thick when cool enough to handle.

Add prosciutto, veggies, and thyme to skillet; cook, stirring often until well browned, 8-10 minutes. Toward end, add minced garlic and cook a few minutes.  In small bowl, mash three cans of beans with fork into a chunky puree.  Add broth, all beans, and sausage.  Cover and bring to simmer.  Reduce heat to med.-low and simmer, partially covered, to blend flavors, 20 minutes.  Let rest 10 min.  Serve with bread and butter.