Jan 7, 2010

Chickpea & Sausage Stew with Greens

Warm up with this hearty, veggie-heavy stew!


1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 zucchini or yellow squash, grated
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (I like to use the fire-roasted ones, or with green chiles)
4 pre-cooked chicken sausages, sliced into half-moons
4 cups rough chop kale/spinach/cooking greens (I use the Southern Greens mixture from Trader Joe's)
1-2 cups Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Pacific, or Imagine--in the qt-size box)
1 cup water or broth

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large pot.  Add onion & pinch of salt and saute until softened.  Add dried thyme and grated squash and saute a few more minutes.  Add beans, tomatoes, sausage, boxed soup, and broth/water.  Let simmer for 10 minutes or until near boiling.  Add the greens, a cup or two at a time, and cook until they're wilted and somewhat softened, about 10 minutes for the Southern Greens, but only 2 min for spinach which wilts quickly.  Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Variations & Notes: 1) You can skip the boxed soup and use all broth--I just like the creaminess-without-cream that the soup offers.  2) You can make this vegetarian by replacing the sausage with a jar of roasted red peppers, drained & sliced.  3) Use whatever bagged, pre-washed greens you can find at the store to make this soup super easy; baby spinach or arugula might be the easiest to find.  4) If you have some wine open, red or white, add a few splashed to the onions before adding the other ingredients, for extra flavor.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I love it that you added boxed soup to this recipe. I didn't know that professionals used this sort of trick! I added boxed butternut squash soup to a take-out carrot-orange soup that I bought at PCC recently. The butternut soup smoothed out the taste of the tart oranges, but didn't overwhelm.

christa said...

i made this soup last weekend and have been enjoying it all week. it's really delicious meel. i even liked the greens, and i don't normally. it seems to get better with age too - just like us!

AMELIA (MEELS) said...

So glad you liked it Christa--yes, it is so good when it sits for awhile!