Ever since I made my version of Kielbasa Stew from the recipe at La Mia Cucina, I’ve been dying to try out a version that used different types of sausage. Knowing that, I suppose it was somewhat advantageous that a tummy bug caught hold of me earlier this week, and that a good soup was the only thing on my mind. It was also fortunate that even though it was the day before payday, I had everything I needed in the larder to whip up a soup.

You keep calling it a soup. I thought the recipe was for sausage stew?

OK, you got me. It is a stew, but only in light of the absolutely outrageous amount of meat and chunky veggies it contains, and the fact that they were stewed. Usually I would have made a roux before adding the stock, but as I said, I was having tummy trouble, so I avoided thickening the broth at all.

Ingredients:

1 lb. bulk pork breakfast sausage
½ lb. Kielbasa, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 head garlic, sliced thin
3 stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces
3 zucchini squash, cut in ½ inch rounds
3 yellow squash cut in ½ inch rounds
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid
32 oz. beef stock
1 tbsp garlic chili sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and sausage. Brown sausage well, breaking it down into bite-sized chunks as it firms, drain if necessary. Add kielbasa and caramelize slightly. Add garlic and allow to brown slightly, stirring constantly to avoid burning.

Add onions, shallot, bell pepper and celery, stir occasionally until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste and mix thoroughly. Add tomatoes and stock, cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash. Cover and return to a simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Either serve immediately or leave over extremely low heat until ready. Serve with crusty bread and croûtons if desired.

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

I would have added more of the chili paste. Aside from that this came out fantastically.

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