Mixed-Greens and Sausage Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings
15
The temperatures have dipped below 80, which means it’s officially soup season in this household.
I actually made this soup a while back, at the height of green-onion-and-greens-mania from our CSA, but wanted to wait until the weather cooled down a bit to post it. After I started sorting through the photos, I wasn’t particularly happy with how they turned out, and debated even posting them. But, I decided that this soup was too good not to share, and that I’ve had this blog for nearly 5 years and still suck at taking pictures of soup…so a promise for a better picture is likely an empty one. 🙂
This soup is incredibly adaptable to what you have on hand, and can be very healthy, too. I had no problem using skim milk in the dumplings, and also substituted chicken andouille for pork. I used beet and turnip greens, as well as kale, when I made this. You could use any combination of those or dandelion greens (a personal favorite), spinach, collards, arugula…anything, really.
It’s incredibly hearty and filling. The soup is slightly spicy (but can be made more or less spicy according to your preference) and the allspice comes through just enough to make you realize it’s there, but is not a dominant flavor. I look forward to making many versions of this soup this fall and winter!
Mixed-Greens and Sausage Soup
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Dumplings
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1.5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped green onions
Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (1 tsp. dried is fine)
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced (I used chicken andouille)
6 cups chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 lb. mixed greens (turnip, beet, dandelion, etc.)
To make the dumplings: Line a baking sheet with parchment, wax paper, or plastic wrap. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and butter, and then the green onions. Let stand for an hour or up to two. With wet hands, shape the mixture, 1 Tbsp. at a time, into 18-20 dumplings, arranging on the sheet (can be made one day ahead and refrigerated, covered).
To make the soup: Heat oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Sauté until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
Add sausage and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, hot sauce, and allspice. Bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. (Can be made ahead. Cover and chill, and then bring to a simmer again when ready to finish.)
Add greens to simmering soup. Cook greens uncovered 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Drop in dumplings. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer until dumplings are tender and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle soup and dumplings into bowl.
I’ve had soup on the brain for a while now too! Looks marvellous. Love the dumplings, sausage and the greens…everything! Enjoy your soup season!
I don’t know ANYONE who takes an especially gorgeous picture of soup (except heidi from 101 cookbooks) but this actually looks pretty damn good. It makes me feel warm and cozy inside…which is the point I think!
Looks like an amazing soup! We had soup for dinner last night, soup season has begun!
Comfort food season is coming fast and soup is high on the list of dishes to make and then freeze while fresh veggies are available to capture that summer fresh taste.
Temps just got below 80 this week (even though they’ll be back to 100 next week lol), and all I can think about are soups and stews! I love that you used andouille in this. I think my husband would really go for something like this! 🙂
I love dumplings, in any incarnation. This looks wonderful, Elly!
Wow, your soup looks delicious, it is all you need in a meal 🙂
Hope you are having a great week Elly!
I think that looks delicious, especially with the cornmeal dumplings to sop it up!
I am not a big soup fan, but the sausage and dumplings make this sound quite delicious!
I just found out that greens have 3 to 1 more calcium than milk and have been looking for recipes using them! I can eat greens fresh but cooked……not so much; However, this recipe looks delicious so I’m definitely gonna try it! We’re big soup fans as well. Thanks for the great recipes!!
This soup sounds like a winner in our house. And, for the record, I like the picture!
This looks and sounds delicious! Yum, perfect for the fall!
Hi. I have the broth simmering as I write. It smells amazing. I had just made some sort of sausage from whole foods, and did not really feel like eating it, and I had dandilion and turnip greens from the garden soaking in salted water, and just didn’t know what to do with it all. Then I found your recipe!
The sausage I have is not as spicy as andouille so I added a little extra seasoning. Didn’t have thyme except in a mix of thyme, rosemary, marjoram and savory ( herbs de province)- it is recommended for soups, and it has thyme, so hopefully will be similar! I was disappointed I only had crushed tomatoes, but the flavor will be there in the broth, just no bits. I added a bunch of stems of dandilion and some turnip green stems so my sauteed greens later won’t have tough inedible stems, I cut them small and added to the broth as it simmers, so hopefully they will add some texture, and be tender. I can only say, it smells amazing so far!
First taste test, I can see the need for the andouille sausage, as the flavor is excellent but just a tad of spice is missing, and I’ve never been good at seasoning soups, I sprinkled a little cajun seasoning in, and it seems to have done the trick, hopefully it will round out the delicious stock. I am also going to cut some of my beet greens to add into the dandilion and turnip greens, as I have never been brave enough to try them before, but it seems the trio of greens will be a great place to start!
I have never made dumplings, and am low-carb primal blueprinting(ish) so I just put together some low-carb/gluten-free matza ball dough from an Elana’s Pantry recipe and will boil them and add them in place of dumplings, I added a tsp of dill and parsley to the matza ball dough and it is in fridge now. Wow! A use for my garden dill! This recipe is turning out fantastic for using all my garden greens and herbs, that I am JUST learning how to cook with! By the way – the STOCK tastes FANTASTIC.
I am going to search for some grass-fed andouille sausage and order extra to freeze so I can make this soup all winter and spring, as long as I can grow greens in Central Florida. So many internet recipes are good, but this is truly amazing, spicy, rich, and has a full rounded flavor! I spotted this recipe and started cooking right away – I cannot wait to fully explore your site and recipes. If the others are as good as this – you should consider writing a cook-book yourself (if you already haven’t – lol)!
🙂 Thank-you!
Thank-you so much – please forgive the long post – wow – a delicious, healthy soup recipe that even I couldn’t botch!
Hi Lisa – glad to hear you liked the soup!