Thursday, June 30, 2005

Hearty Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Soup - it's good stuff. It's the dieter's best friend - naturally light (for the most part) and more filling than you would think. Basically, you are forced to slow down to eat it, especially when fresh. That helps you get used to feeding your body at a better pace. It's pretty much impossible to take giant bites of soup - and there's more of a feeling of fullness earlier, and less tendency to overeat.

This soup is from WW Take Out Tonight, one of the cookbooks I love to read as well as cook from. I love the idea of being able to use fresh ingredients & spices to imitate restaurant recipes. I get to challenge myself and feed myself well at the same time.

This recipe is interesting, because it doesn't have spices, and pretty much uses the flavor from the turkey sausage and cilantro to flavor. The result is pretty nice - not too chicken broth-y, which is something that I really dislike.

The result ended up not being too thin - at first I thought the amount of soup pureed wasn't enough to thicken. On reheat it works well though. This is a soup that freezes well as well.

I'm not sure I love this enough to repeat it, but I did like it.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Hearty Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1/2 pound sweet italian turkey sausage link
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion -- finely chopped
2 garlic cloves -- minced
2 jalapeno peppers -- seeded and minced
3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans canned black beans -- rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium defatted chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Spray a large nonstick saucepan with nonstick spray and set over medium-low heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate. When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in th esame saucepan, then add the onion, garlic, and jalapenos. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the beans and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until all the flavors are blended, about 8 minutes.

Transfer 2 cups of the bean mixture to a blender or food processor and puree. Stir the puree and the sausage into the soup. Simmer, uncovered, until the soup is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat, stir in the cilantro, and serve.

Source:
"WW Take Out Tonight"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 273 Calories; 6g Fat (20.5% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 32mg Cholesterol; 1360mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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