Cabbage not only lowers the cholesterol but is also full of natural antioxidant properties that prevent cancer; it also has high contents of calcium. When you ferment it, a whole new spectrum of beneficial bacteria is brought to our gut, making us a tad bit healthier.
If you suffer from hypothyroidism, don’t worry about cabbage being goiterous; much of it is neutralized when fermented.
Always buy sauerkraut from the refrigeration section, never from the shelf; the ones on shelves are not properly fermented and contain vinegar which has little to no nutritional properties.
Please do not boil the kraut as it loses its enzymes (that aid digestion) when heated that high. The kraut should just be nicely warmed through and ready to eat as a warm meal.
I personally also like to add more fat (like olive oil or butter) to this soup as I feel like. I digest food like sauerkraut better with fats. Always listen to your body’s signals; they are there to tell us something.
- 2 lamb or turkey sausages made from organic, grass-fed animal; cut to ½ inch pieces
- 1 small jar, about 10oz (300g) naturally fermented sauerkraut
- 1 cup dry white beans (or a can, if you must…)
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 lb (500g) home made chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cumin
- sea salt
- Soak beans overnight (8-10 hours and even 24 hours is good), rinse and cook for about 45 min but do not add salt as it slows the cooking process. If you have a pressure cooker, you will cut the cooking time to 15 minutes.
- Once beans are cooked, drain them and set aside
- Heat up oil and brown sausages on all sides, then put aside
- Roast cumin (no oil) on a dry pan till fragrant and slightly darker in color
- Sautee onion till nicely browned
- Pour chicken stock over onions and bring up the heat till it’s about to boil
- Add sauerkraut, beans, sausages and cumin and heat through without boiling
- Serve warm
[…] Sausage, Bean and Sauerkraut Soup – a way to get to a man’s heart from this hearty meal […]
Such a great recipe! thanks for this!
My mother in law always made kielbasa, sauerkraut soup with kidney beans, do you have a recipe for that?
Hi Gail, you could just use the Kielbasa in place of the meat in the directions and you could also just switch the beans in the recipe to kidney beans instead. ~HB Support
you said sauerkraut from the refrigeration section that usually comes in a plastic bag but you listed in a jar I have never seen it refrigerated in a jar