Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup

I recently decided to give Rachael Ray's new show Rachael Ray's Week in a Day a try. And I confess, I love it! I do like to spend an afternoon cooking and end up with a bunch of stuff I can pick on during the week. But for me it's more about lunches and breakfasts than having dinner prepared in advance. Regardless, I was excited about a bunch of recipes she features.

I have made "stoup" before and love the concept. It's Rachael Ray's cute way of naming a chunky soup - like a cross between a soup and a stew. And I loving making things like this on the weekend, when the house can smell all good while it's cooking, and then taking it for lunch. In addition, this uses broccoli raab which is something I've been trying to eat more of (dark green leafy veggies).

All the flavors come together great in this dish. And in fact, it's a bit spicy! If you are sensitive to heat you may want to cut down on the chili pepper. But for me, it made it even better.

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup
4 servings

Salt
1 large bundle broccoli rabe, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sweet or hot sausage
1 onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or very thinly sliced
1 red chile pepper, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon lemon zest
A few grates nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock-in-a-box
2 cups water
About 3/4 cup orecchietti pasta
Grated pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for topping
Crusty bread, such as ciabatta

In a medium pot, bring a few inches of water to a boil over medium heat, then salt the water. Trim the broccoli rabe and cut it into 1 1/2 to 2-inch lengths. Simmer in boiling water to reduce the bitterness, about 4 to 5 minutes, then cold shock in ice water and drain very well.

Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan. Add the sausage and brown and crumble, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and chile and cook a few minutes more. Add the thyme and lemon zest, then add broccoli rabe and season with a little nutmeg. Stir in the stock and the water and bring to a boil. Simmer a few minutes to combine the flavors. Turn off the heat, cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat the stoup over low heat and bring to a low boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente, about 10 minutes. Ladle the stoup in shallow bowls and garnish with cheese. Serve with crusty bread for mopping.

Note: For a milder version, use only 3 tablespoons of chili powder and ½ teaspoon cayenne.




See more hearty recipes for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted weekly by Kahakai Kitchen.

Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad

I know this calls for a grill, but I used a grill pan instead of venturing out in the snow. Also, I substituted red fingerling potatoes which worked out perfectly. This recipe for Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad comes from the June, 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine.

I strongly suggest you taste the "vinaigrette" before tossing in the potatoes because I didn't think it had nearly enough cider vinegar for that German potato salad taste. But this recipe does a good job of melding familiar German flavors in a different and easy way.

Grilled Kielbasa with Warm Potato Salad Serves 4 (Main Course) 2 lb. small red boiling potatoes, halved or quartered if large 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 lb. smoked kielbasa Accompaniment: grainy mustard

Generously cover potatoes with water in a large saucepan and add 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, whisk together onion, oil, vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl.

Add hot potatoes and parsley to vinaigrette and toss.

Prepare grill for direct-head cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium heat for gas). NOTE: Kielbasa can be grilled in a hot lightly oiled large (2-burner) ridged grill pan over medium-high heat.

Cut kielbasa crosswise into 4 sections, then halve each section lengthwise.

Oil grill rack, then grill kielbasa, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, until sizzling and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes total.

Serve kielbasa with potato salad (warm or at room temperature).

Slow-Cooker Sausage and Vegetable Risotto

I was really intrigued by this recipe for Slow-Cooker Sausage and Vegetable Risotto I found in the November, 2007 issue of Food and Wine Magazine. I absolutely love risotto, but I HATE standing over the hot stove stirring the rice. All the steam comes up in my face and I end up a big sweat box. So the thought of doing some prep work and then letting it all cook by itself in the slow-cooker was very novel to me. I was doubtful though . . . would the slow cooker turn out good risotto? Would it be moist enough? Would the rice end up tough?

The risotto turned out perfect! I was so excited that it turned out so well. It was rich and creamy just how risotto is supposed to be. I hope I can learn how to adapt other risotto recipes to be made in my slow cooker!

Slow-Cooker Sausage and Vegetable Risotto 6 servings 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed 3 tablespoons water 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice 2 cups arborio rice (14 ounces) 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 tablespoon kosher salt 5 cups baby spinach (5 ounces) 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving Freshly ground pepper

Turn a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker to high. In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. In a skillet, cook the sausage with the water over moderately high heat, breaking it up with a spoon until the water has evaporated and the sausage is browned, 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the slow cooker.

In the same skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until the wine is reduced by half, 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until all of the wine has been absorbed. Scrape the rice into the slow cooker. Add the hot broth, zucchini and salt and cover. Cook for 1 hour, stirring once halfway through. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the slow cooker.

Stir the spinach into the risotto until just wilted. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the grated cheese, season with pepper and serve immediately, passing additional cheese at the table.

Creole Sausage and Shrimp

Although this recipe for Andouille Sausage and Shrimp with Creole Mustard Sauce is featured in the February, 2007 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, it was brought to my attention by Becky from Key Lime and Coconut. She reviewed this recipe and used it as her submission for her Weekend Herb Blogging entry a few weeks ago. I hope Becky knows that imitation is supposed to be the highest form of flattery . . . because I am totally copying off of her. Not only did I make the recipe for dinner tonight, but I'm also going to use it as my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted by Tomatom. I was going to do something else, but I ended up with a thyme story so I figured I'd write about it here.


First of all, the recipe . . . Make this. Go out and buy yourself a pound of shrimp, some spicy sausage, creole mustard and creole seasoning. You will be happy you did. It's pretty easy to make and is nice because it only uses one pot. The hardest part was taking the shells off of the shrimp but you can purchase them without shells to make it even easier. I had one issue with the recipe because my sauce did not thicken in two minutes. It took mine more like 8 minutes and I was worried that the veggies would over-cook but the whole thing came out just perfect. This dish has a bit of spice to it, but it's wonderful spice. The flavors are just amazing and it's super satisfying. Now for the thyme. . .


Thyme is a Mediterranean herb but it grows easily in many parts of the world and has become a standard for various ethnic cuisines. The thyme leaves are tiny and by the time I got mine home, they had folded and looked more like an evergreen than small parsley. This recipe calls for chopped fresh thyme. I have one of those Pampered Chef food choppers so all I have to do is pill up my herbs and then stomp, stomp, stomp . . . it's all chopped. Well, most herbs anyways. This was not the case with the thyme. My normal practice is to chop the herbs stems and all. Those thyme stems are some tough suckers! I kept chopping and chopping and they wouldn't break down fine enough. I brought out the knife but they just weren't cooperating. So my advise is to take the time to pull the leaves off of the stems when working with thyme. This was definitely a learning experience for me with using fresh herbs. But isn't that what this is all about?

Andouille Sausage and Shrimp with Creole Mustard Sauce 4 to 6 servings Ingredients: 1 pound uncooked peeled deveined large shrimp 1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 1 pound andouille sausage, cut crosswise on diagonal into 3/4-inch-thick pieces 1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 1 cup low-salt chicken broth 5 tablespoons Creole mustard (such as Zatarain's) 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Instructions:
Toss shrimp with Creole seasoning in medium bowl to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add sausage pieces, cut side down. Cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to bowl. Add shrimp to skillet; cook until browned and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with sausage. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, bell pepper, and thyme to skillet. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add broth, mustard, and vinegar. Stir until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Return sausage and shrimp to skillet. Simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.