Homemade on Long Island: Sausage, Spinach and Squash Soup

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sausage, Spinach and Squash Soup

I have been trying to come up with some recipes that are Paleo diet friendly. I am also trying to use up some of the contents of my CSA box and fridge. I came up with this recipe as a way to give my husband something good he can eat while eating no carbs, no legumes and no dairy. This soup is loaded with good for you veggies and lean meats. Try it on a cold winter day. The sausage in this recipe can be changed to all sweet or all spicy to meet your preferences. It can also be pork if you prefer that too. The sausage used here is from Dines Farms, an all natural farm in upstate New York that sells at the G & G Long Island Winter Farmers Market. Check them out if you want great meats. You can also substitute acorn squash for the butternut, if you have that on hand.

Ingredients:

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 lb sweet Italian chicken or turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb spicy Italian chicken or turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion. diced
1 small butternut squash diced
12 oz fresh spinach leaves
10 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 bay leaves

Here's how:

Add the oil to a large stock pot and heat on medium heat

Add the sausage to the pan to brown on each side, 3 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pot. You want the meat to be in a single layer with room in between. You will have to brown the meat in 3-4 batches, removing the meat and setting it aside for each batch.

Sweet sausage

Italian sausage

Sweet sausage browned

Browing the sweet sausage. Notice it is not crowded in the pan

Browning the hot sausage

Once all the meat is browned, add the onions. Use your spoon to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. This is where the flavor for the soup will come from. Saute for 5 minutes, do not brown.