Knockwurst Stoup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) or vegetable oil
8 knockwurst, cut into 2 inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 small head red cabbage, cored, thinly sliced and chopped a few times to shorten up the slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 rounded tablespoons dark or light brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (eyeball it)
4 cups chicken stock

2 cups tomato sauce
1 McIntosh apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup (a handful) flat-leaf parsley leaves
A few slices dark bread

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of oil. Add the sliced knockwurst and cook until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.

Remove the browned knockwurst to a plate and add the caraway seeds to the pot. Toast for abut 30 seconds then add the onion, bay leaf and red cabbage, season with a little salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until the onions and cabbage start to get tender -- put a lid on it to get it really going.

Add the sugar and apple cider vinegar, cook for about 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and tomato sauce. Bring up to a bubble and simmer the soup for about 10 minutes. Add the knockwurst back into the soup and simmer another minute just to heat it up again.

While the stoup is cooking, combine the apple slices, lemon juice and parsley in a bowl. Serve the stoup topped with some of the thinly sliced apple mixture on top of each serving and some lightly buttered dark bread with raisins alongside.