Greens and Sausage Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

Hi, friends!  I'm still on a huge greens kick, so I bring you another recipe loaded with chard and kale.  These veggies are loaded with nutritional benefits (here's some info on kale), but they aren't the easiest foods to enjoy because of their tough texture.  Although I've continually read that you lose some of the nutritional value when you boil (vs. steaming or stir-frying) greens such as Kale, I just don't enjoy the texture of tough greens.  At all.  And it's really important to me to enjoy what I'm eating.

While this soup is so, so wonderful (perfect for a chilly winter evening), I hesitated to post it because it sounds a bit similar to the Greens and White Bean Stew that I posted just last week.  But I assure you, this soup is quite different from the last one:

• This one has no beans
• This one has meat
• There are dumplings in this one (but with NO white flour!)
• This one is SPICY!
• In terms of cooking techniques, this one is way easier (no poached eggs...)

I started with this recipe from the January 2011 issue of Bon Appetit, an issue which - much to my delight - had an entire section devoted to cooking with greens.  As usual, I changed the recipe as I went along.  My ingredient and process changes are included in the recipe below.  If you're interested in making parts of this soup ahead of time, check out the process in the Bon Appetit version.

For the sausage, I used a chicken and turkey andouille sausage with no fillers or other junk in it from Whole Foods.  I don't think the hubby even realized it wasn't "real" sausage.

I know that a "bunch" of chard or kale will vary from store to store, but I think the total weight of the two bunches I used was about 1 to 1.5 pounds.

Greens and Sausage Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

prep time: approx. 1 hour

total time (includes cooling): approx. 2.5 hours

servings: 6

dumplings

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped green onions

soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 + cups chopped onion
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pound andouille sausages, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes in tomato juice
approx. 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

large pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional and to taste)
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bunch green chard (approx. 6 "stalks")

1 bunch kale
(Wash greens and chop/tear into large bite-sized pieces.  Remember, they'll cook down quite a bit.)

DUMPLINGS: 

Whisk together first 5 ingredients.  Stir in milk and butter, then green onions.  It's a very thick texture - don't worry.  Let stand 1 to 2 hours.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on a baking sheet.  Using wet hands, shape dumpling mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, into dumplings (should make 18 to 26).  Place on baking sheet. Place baking sheet in refrigerator until you are ready to add the dumplings to the soup.  

SOUP:  

Heat oil in dutch oven or other large soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.  Saute for about 10 minutes, until onion becomes tender and slightly translucent.  Add sausage and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add broth, tomatoes with juice, Tabasco sauce, cayenne, and allspice.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  

Add greens to simmering soup and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drop in dumplings, cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes (dumplings should be tender and cooked through).  Season soup with salt and pepper, and ladle soup and dumplings into bowls to serve.

Enjoy!