This week Good Friends Good Food is cooking with tomatoes. I have to let you know I don’t like raw tomatoes but I love them cooked – roasted, boiled, stewed, in stew, in green beans etc etc. But raw – no thanks.

When I ran across this soup from The Frog Commissary it just started calling out to me. After looking at the ingredients it looked delicious. And since it has/had turned cool when I found it I knew it would make a nice warm comforting meal.

I had plenty of canned tomatoes from this summer’s garden and an Eggplant from my Misfit Market.

Tomato, Sausage, and Eggplant Soup

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 1/2 cups cubed unpeeled eggplant (1/2″ cubes)

A splash or two of water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped fennel (or celery if you can’t find)

2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I use less)

2 tsp. ground or crushed fennel seed

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I use more)

4 bay leaves

1 tsp. dried basil

1 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 lb. sweet (or hot if you like) Italian sausage with casing removed

1 1/2 cups chicken stock1 28-oz. can tomato puree (I use crushed tomatoes in puree usually)

1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped (save juice!)

Heat the 1/3 cup olive oil in a 4-5 qt. saucepan.  Add the eggplant, a splash or two of water to help get it softening, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt.  Saute over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes or until just tender.  Transfer the eggplant to a bowl.  In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Add the onions, fennel, garlic, fennel seed, pepper, bay leaves, the remaining 1 tsp. salt, basil and thyme.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes.
Add the sausage and saute 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a spoon.  Add the chicken stock, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes with their juice, and the eggplant.  Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. 

If the soup seems too thick, add more chicken stock (Which I did. It was very thick).  Remove the bay leaves and serve.

And did I mention it is KETO friendly?

(Taken from The Frog Commissary Cookbook) You can also find the recipe HERE.

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