Friday, October 20, 2006

Portuguese soup

My mom swears she has been making this sausage and cabbage soup (recipe here) for years but I don't remember it at all. The first time I remember eating it was when Malcontent Mama served it to Bookhart and me at her house on a very cold evening last winter. I've made it several times since and it always takes me back to that icy/drizzly evening and all the laughter and alcohol and broken glass. Good times! (Er, you probably had to have been there.)

Anyway, I was in the mood for it tonight so I put a pot on to simmer while the kids were at taekwondo. I leave out the kidney beans because DH is allergic to them, but in my opinion the soup is better with them in. This is a wonderful soup for cold weather -- it really warms you up inside! It's even better the second day, after the flavors have really had a chance to meld.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds good and I was with you....until I saw 16 oz ketchup. Really? In soup?? Can I used canned tomato or something instead?

Badger said...

I know it sounds weird, but it works somehow! Ketchup has just the right balance of tomato, sugar and vinegar for the broth. Plus it tends to thicken it a bit. You could probably use homemade ketchup though, if it makes you feel better.

Otherwise you could maybe get by with a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and boost the amount of balsamic just a bit (and maybe add just a teaspoon of sugar? or something?). I haven't tried it, though, so I can't vouch for the results!