Andouille Sausage, Tomato and Rice Soup

I'm taking advantage of the last of the cold winter nights, and making soup again. This time I was using up the open beef stock in the freezer, 3 ripe tomatoes and some tomato paste from the fridge, and leftover rice from a previous meal.

I added a couple of andouille sausages to the mix, which added a hearty spiciness to the soup, and rounded it out with smoked paprika. I baked a recipe of Focaccia with Caramelized Onion and Rosemary to serve with the soup.

The soup turned out to be hearty, but not heavy with a bit of heat in the background.

Blanch the sausage in simmering water until firm when pressed between finger and thumb. It should take about 7 - 8 minutes, and be about half cooked:

2 andouille sausages

Remove the core from:

3 ripe tomatoes

Add the tomatoes to the pan with the sausage, leaving them in the water until the skin starts to split.

Remove the tomatoes from the water and run under cold water to cool them.

Peel, cut them in half and remove the seeds and then chop them into small dice. Set aside.

Remove the sausages from the water, and allow to cool. Reserve the water.

When cool, slice the sausages into 1/4" thick slices. Set aside until needed.

In a large pot, using olive oil, cook until softened:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
Salt and pepper

When the vegetables are soft, stir in and cook for 2 minutes:

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Add:

The diced tomatoes

Add the sliced sausage to the pot, along with:

3 to 4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Add:

1 1/2 cups beef stock
Sausage poaching water to bring the level just above the sausage and vegetables
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Simmer for half an hour.

Stir in:

1 cup cooked rice

Taste and adjust seasoning







I served the soup with Focaccia with Caramelized Onion and Rosemary, which was perfect for soaking up all the spicy liquid that the spoon left behind!

• Blanching the sausage allows you to slice it easily, without cooking it the whole way through. It also served a second purpose, as I knew I didn't have enough beef stock....the sausages and tomatoes added some flavour to the water, which then got put back into the soup as extra liquid.
• Another way to deal with the sausage is to remove the meat from the casing, and cook it in the soup pot. Remove the cooked, crumbled sausage from the pan and then proceed with cooking the vegetables.
• Any sausage can be used, but the spiciness works nicely with the tomato and rice, so consider Italian sausage or chorizo as options instead of andouille.
• Canned tomatoes can be used instead of fresh.
• If you have enough, use all beef stock.
• By adding the rice right at the end, it remains firm. If it sits in the soup for too long, the rice  will absorb the liquid and become soft and mushy. I was using leftover rice; you can cook rice especially for the soup, or use leftover cooked pasta instead.
• Add beans if you have some available.