Friday, December 5, 2014

The Soup Season Has Begun

Winter is soup season! Soup is such a great comfort food.


I make my soups in my big Dutch oven where it can simmer for hours and fill the house with delicious flavors that make everybody hungry. Is there anything better than gathering at the table for a big pot of soup and some rustic bread (preferable homemade)? My mom used to make a wonderful potato soup with some very hearty sausage in it. We loved that soup, but unfortunately the recipe is lost. This is something that still bugs me, that my mom's recipes disappeared after she had died.

However, only a few weeks ago my blogging friend Ginnie mentioned her son's potato sausage soup on her blog. She also included a photo of the soup which reminded me of my mom's soup. It looked so super delicious that I asked her whether I can have the recipe. She sent it to me a day later.

A couple days ago I tried it for the first time - and gosh, was it good! No, it wasn't exactly like my mom's potato soup, but it had pretty much the same ingredients - especially the sausage!!! Although it is a different kind of sausage (Germany is the sausage nation of the world, there are so many kinds that you can't expect to find anywhere else) it has the same heartiness. Just yummy, and wonderful on a winter's evening. If you like cornbread, go for it. We love to eat rustic country bread with it.

The soup is my find of this week and worth a post for Friday Finds! This is definitely a keeper. Ginnie has graciously given me permission to post the recipe here.


Potato Sausage Soup

Ingredients:
1 large onion
4-6 medium/large potatoes
4-6 stalks of celery
6-8 large carrots
1 pound of sausage (Polska Kielbasa)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup of sour cream
salt
paprika (I used smoked paprika)

Instructions:
Cut sausage into 1/2" sections

Chop onion and saute in water (cover bottom of pot).  Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp paprika to onions as they cook on medium heat.

Add sausage to onions and simmer covered while you cut up the rest of the vegetables.

Cut celery and carrots into small pieces.  (optionally peel) potatoes and cut into cubes 1" or so.

Add veggies to sausage and onions.  Add 2 bay leaves.

Add just enough water to cover everything, 6-8 cups.

Add 2 tsp salt.

Bring to a boil and then simmer covered until veggies are done (easily pierced with a fork)

Once veggies are cooked, and before you are ready to serve, dip out one or two cups of the hot soup broth (just broth, no veggies or meat) and add 1/2 cup of sour cream to the hot broth.  Stir up thoroughly to mix sour cream with the broth.  Then pour that mixture back with the rest of the soup and mix well.

Soup is ready to serve.  Goes very well with cornbread muffins!

Keep refrigerated and before reheating skim off the solidified fat from the top of the soup (looks orange!)


There is only one thing to add: ENJOY!!!





15 comments:

Unknown said...

Yumm, that does look delicious! and so are your photos!

Ginnie Hart said...

Now, if I can find Polska Kielbasa sausage here in the Netherlands, I, too, will make this, Carola. I'm so glad you tried and liked it.

Susan W said...

This looks delicious, my husband would love it. With winter here, it's soup season in our house as well.

Bethany Carson said...

Mmmm...that looks absolutely delicious! Now I'm hungry for soup!

Orsolina said...

Hahah, ich glaub' es nicht. Bei uns gab es gestern auch frische Kartoffelsuppe, ohne Würstchen, dafür mit Kasseler.

LG Biggi

Michelle B said...

I am making potato and sausage soup tonight for dinner! Mine is a little different, I use cooked spicy ground sausage. Yours looks delicious!

Elephant's Child said...

Home cooking is the gift which keeps giving isn't it? One greedy sniff and an instant trip down memory lane (with anticipation fuelling the journey).

21 Wits said...

This is really timely for us around here in Minnesota. Many families get together this time of year to stuff homemade sausage links too. This looks so yummy!

carol l mckenna said...

Oh I bet is delicious! Lovely 'foodie' photography ~

Happy Weekend
artmusedog and carol

windrock studio said...

Yes, I will be making this soon, looks so good! Thanks to you both.

Bonny Bonafilla said...

Now this looks like something I would enjoy for my supper. I agree with your assessment of soup season. It's the ultimate cold weather comfort food and I am going to have to give this recipe a road-test one of these cold, grey winter evenings. All the best, Bonny

Kia said...

I like to eat soup in the winter time too. Usually I prefer mine with just veggies, but yours looks so yummy! :)
Happy second Sunday of Advent.

Magic Love Crow said...

Looks so good! Thank you ;o) Hugs ;o)

gina said...

Yum! I love soup this time of year, especially with the rain. I always add garlic and kale for extra fortification.

KB said...

I agree - soup season is here. We've had a lot of soup lately, helping warm us up after being out in the cold.