Saturday, September 29, 2007

Sausage and Potato Soup

Sausage and Potato Soup with riceThe weather has cooled substantially, inviting thoughts of warm, filling soups and stews. While grocery shopping I noticed Basque sausages were on special at the meat counter and I simply couldn't resist. At home I started throwing things into the pot until it all 'looked right' and by golly, it turned out so perfectly good I didn't even need to correct the seasoning at the end. So here I share with you my own version of Basque Sausage and Potato Soup.

1 lb. uncooked Basque Sausages, cut into bite-sized bits
6 large potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 cups chicken broth
water as needed

In a 6-quart dutch oven heat olive oil over a medium flame and add potatoes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking too badly. When the potatoes start to color a little add the sausage. When the sausage is mostly cooked add onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as much as you can. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, celery salt, thyme and enough water to cover everything with liquid. Put a lid on the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve with some crusty bread or over hot cooked rice.

Note: If you can't find Basque sausages where you live, just substitute your favorite sausage.

2 comments:

old lady said...

This sounds yummy - but not knowing much about different sausages (hot or mild is my limit) what is Basque sausages??

Ari said...

The particular sausages I used for this recipe were a little bit hot.

I have made a second batch (the first went too quickly) using bratwurst, which is a mild sausage, and it made a wonderful soup too.

I think it would work well with just about any sausage you like to eat. I plan to try it with kielbasa, italian sausage and breakfast sausage. I might substitute different dried herbs for the thyme, however, depending on the sausage I use.