Braised Greens and Sausage Soup Recipe

Clean all greens two to three times under cold, running water, making sure to remove any bad leaves and to rinse away any soil or grit. Remove large center stem from leaves and discard. Chop greens coarsely.

In a large stockpot, add water or beef stock, greens, cabbage, onions, celery, bell peppers and minced garlic. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook, covered, 45 minutes. Remove the solids from the pot with a skimmer or slotted spoon, and set aside.

Add sausage, ham and stew meat to liquid in the pot, and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until stew meat is tender and falling apart. Strain, reserving the liquid. Return 1 gallon of liquid to the pot. Slice sausage into 1/2-inch rounds and coarsely chop the ham and stew meat, and set aside.

Place reserved greens, flour, thyme and filé powder (if using) in a food processor snd puree. Pour pureed mixture into the liquid in the pot and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped ham, stew meat and sausage back to the soup. Cook 10 minute more and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper (if using). Additional reserved stock may be necessary to retain a soup-like consistency.

Serve over rice or as is with a few slices of hard-cooked eggs.