How’s that for a title, eh?! And that isn’t even mentioning the leek, or cabbage, or garlic…this soup is just CRAMMED with good stuff.
Anyways, back to my laughing…you see, I SAY this recipe came out of that book…but it was originally Sausage and Red Cabbage Soup…with potatoes and black eyed peas and cream…
Then one thing led to another…and now it is nothing like the original! But I must still give credit, because this beautiful soup never would have happened without the inspiration of this lovely little book!
It started with the potatoes… Mr. Rodgers can’t have potatoes! My first thought was “Well, I can just use sweet potatoes…wait! Mr. Rodgers can’t have sweet potatoes either…what is kind of like a sweet potato??? Butternut squash! We’ll try that.” Step one in the transformation.
Then came the black eyed peas. They are probably fine…but the husband has a specific list of what beans/legumes he can and cannot have…some are “eat every chance you get,” like black beans. Some are “in moderation,” like chick peas. So I just wasn’t sure about the black eyed peas, I’d hate to make something he couldn’t eat, or would be a bit of a compromise. So I decided what the heck, I have a pantry full of black beans, we’ll use those instead.
Then I went to 3 or 4 stores looking for sausages without sugar or corn syrup or dextrose…NOTHING! So annoying!! But I grabbed some chorizo for a meatloaf recipe I will make later…NO SUGAR! Hmmmm…I’ll use that for my soup too!
Then I went to add my almond milk instead of cream…and it was expired. I guess this will be a brothy soup.
And there you have it. Soup transformation. I was so nervous because of all the changes…but this soup was BEAUTIFUL! I can’t even describe how great the flavors worked together, and how comforting it was! And I have to tell you…the day I made this was just the best day ever!! I will tell you more about it in my pictures!
So, here’s what you need:
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil or Grassfed Butter
- 3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 1 Large Onion, Chopped
- 1 Leek, Sliced (I had never used a leek before! Life changing! YouTube will show you how to cut them if its your first time!)
- 6 C Chicken Stock
- 1 Small Butternut Squash, Cubed (About 1 lb)
- 1/2 lb Chorizo (or more…it was enough, but I might add more if I make it again to be more “paleo”)
- 1/4 Large Red Cabbage, Thinly Sliced
- 1 Can Black Beans
- Salt and Pepper
And here’s how you do it!
Note: I used the chorizo in a way I am sure it was not intended, but I loved the outcome! If you prefer to use it as a ground meat, feel free to brown it up before hand and add it back in right before the broth! I wanted larger bites of meat, so I cooked it like you would a dumpling….and it worked! I was so excited!!
- Prep all your veggies! It’s easiest to have them all ready in bowls so you can dump as you go…but if you prefer to chop as you go that’s up to you!
- Melt your oil/butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook about 3 minutes, until starting to get tender
- Add the leek and cook another 3 minutes or so. Doesn’t it smell good?!
- Stir in the broth, add the butternut squash. Now comes my crazy chorizo cooking method. Since it came in a tubular shape, I cut it into small bite sized pieces and dropped it into the soup like dumplings and let it boil! And it worked! I was left with little chorizo bites throughout the soup! Yay!! Some oil from the chorizo will rise to the top of the soup…if this bothers you, use a spoon to remove it! I left it though and it was perfectly fine.
- Add salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook about 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in your red cabbage and black beans and cook 5-10 more minutes until the cabbage is starting to get tender. Check your squash and make sure it is tender (but preferably not falling apart). Spoon into bowls and top with some fresh cracked pepper!!