Cabbage, Andouille and Rice Soup

For day 13 of Soup Month 2014, we used a spicy Cajun Andouille Sausage in our Cabbage, Andouille and Rice soup.  This soup gets a big boost of flavor from the sausage, so buying a good quality sausage is important and will add a tremendous amount of pepper and garlic to the broth.

This is a hearty, warm-you-up kind of soup and I couldn't help but think how delicious it would be on a cold, snowy Midwestern night.

What makes this soup taste even better is that it can be prepared in just about 30 minutes.  Cooking the rice in a separate pan, while you prepare the rest of the soup, saves a lot of time and yet all of the flavors really pop when they come together.  Serve this soup with a cold dark German beer, such as Beck's Dark.  Enjoy!!

2 cups  Chicken Broth
1 cup  Rice Select Organic Jasmati Rice, you can also use basmati or any long-grain rice
1 TB  Canola Oil
1 lb  Cajun Andouille Sausage, or another spicy sausage, thinly sliced
1 medium  Yellow Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 large  Green Cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
5 cups  Chicken Broth
1/4 tsp  White Pepper
Salt and Ground Black Pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of broth with the rice and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook over low heat for 18 - 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion and cabbage to the pot and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.  Add the remaining 5 cups of chicken broth and the white pepper and bring to a simmer.  Cook over medium-low heat until the cabbage is tender, about 12 minutes.  Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper, stir in the rice and serve.  Makes about 8 servings.