Tomato, smoked sausage, and spinach soup

The hardest thing about soups in my opinion is the broth. For the solids of a soup it’s just about cooking them optimally, which might mean for me to never cook them with the soup. The broth is trickier in that not many things make a good broth without a lot of manipulation. I’ve found the immersion blender to be very helpful in creating broths, but here I just use a regular blender. Soups might have been even more common in times past. To me it seems very plausible that many of a hunter’s kill would not need a lot of attention or creativity to end up as a soup. Basically add some water and cook the kill over the hearth fire and stir occasionally. Add some of the vegetables from your garden to make it even better. Anyways on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• One large can tomato sauce
• One large can peeled tomatoes
• 2 medium cans great northern beans
• 2 medium cans diced tomatoes
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1 habanero
• 2 bags spinach
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 2 cups water

Instructions:

1. Puree peeled tomatoes, garlic, habanero, and salt and pepper to taste in blender until smooth.
2. Pour pureed mixture, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and water in large crockpot.
3. Mix and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours.
4. Slice smoked sausage in thin disks and fry. Set aside.
5. Unplug crockpot and add spinach.
6. Cook until wilted.
7. Add smoked sausage to pot and serve.