In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Mock Turtle sings the praises of “soup of the evening, beautiful soup!” The very word soup conjures up a feeling of soothing comfort. And whereas chilled summer soups are just fine, it is the hearty winter soups that we most identify with.

Soup has been a part of American diets since Colonial days, when it was often served for breakfast. Served with a salad and bread, it can be a complete lunch or dinner. The best thing about soup is that practically anything can be used to make it.

Cookbooks will tell you that the basis for any good soup is the stock or broth. Then they proceed to try to guilt trip you into making your own, which can be very time consuming and require more time and effort than most of us have.There are a number of very good canned stocks and soup bases available. I recommend Swanson’s for the canned variety and Minor’s (available locally at King’s Produce) for a base. These stocks can be improved by the additon of onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf, herbs, and meat scraps. Just saute any additions in a little oil to bring out the flavor before adding the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes to a half hour and strain if you want a plain broth or leave them in if they work in your recipe.

I made the smoked sausage and potato soup pictured above in about a half hour. It’s very simple to make and tastes fantastic.

Ingredients

For each person:

1/2 Idaho baking potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 6 inch piece of your favorite smoked sausage cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
2 TBS each of  chopped onion, celery, and carrot
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 TBS of heavy cream or half and half
salt and cracked pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Film the bottom of a pre-heated pot with just enough olive oil (or vegetable oil) to prevent sticking and saute the smoked sausage until it begins to brown. Remove the sausage and add the onions, celery, and carrot and cook until the onions are clear. Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. At this point, I use a stick blender to puree the vegetables, but this step is not necessary. It’s just my personal preference. If you do, remove the bay leaf first, then put it back in. Add the sausage and potatoes, cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Mash a few of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup and add the cream. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and cracked pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf, ladle into a bowl, sprinkle with chopped parsley and dig in!