Tag: sopa de fuba recipe

As the outside temperatures start leaning towards Autumn, Ms. Jeannie starts dreaming about soup in all its different variations. Undoubtedly one of her most favorite things to make in the cold months, she was practically giddy today in anticipation of inaugurating the season with one of her very favorites…Sopa de Fuba, a native recipe to this gorgeous place…

Can you guess where in the world this picture was taken? If you guessed Brazil then you are right! To be more particular it is Minas Gerais – the fourth largest state in Brazil, known for it’s precious gem, diamond and gold mines, its historic colonial charm and a certain something special in the warm and hearty soup department.

Sopa de Fuba combines just a few simple ingredients in an unusual manner which makes it fun to cook and a bit out of the ordinary to serve.

It starts with the browning of cornmeal on the stove…

And then the sauteing of sausage…

You can use any variety of sausage from kielbasa to ground from pork to turkey depending on what you prefer. In this case Ms. Jeannie used organic hot Italian chicken sausage. Eventually you will wind up with slices or crumbles…

The trickiest part of the whole production is when you incorporate one cup full of cornmeal broth to two lightly beaten eggs…

The slower you whisk the hot broth into the cold eggs the better so as not to curddle the eggs. By drizzling instead of pouring and whisking quickly with a fork  its easier to incorporate the two and makes for a nice, thick, creamy looking mixture instead of thin and runny with floating flaky egg bits.

In the very end you wind up with this dreamy concotion that tastes like it has been cooking for days and feels like you have sweatered your insides in something soft and warm like cashmere.

Taking about 90 minutes from prep to table, it is a robust rainy day recipe that makes you feel like you have spent some satisfying time in the kitchen yet doesn’t take all day nor the use of every dish. Pair it with  a nice glass of wine and some crusty bread or a warm dressing salad and you’ll be fortified for hours when it comes to the task of raking leaves, shoveling snow, or hiking mountains to find that one perfect Griswold worthy Christmas tree:) It also freezes well so make a big batch if you are so inclined and dinner will be taken care of down the winter road.

Here’s the recipe breakdown from start to finish. Ms. Jeannie adapted this just slightly from the original saveaur.com recipe. Her alterations are in italics.

Sopa de Fuba

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

½ cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. canola oil (Ms. Jeannie uses olive oil) 
6 oz. kielbasa sausage, cut diagonally into ¼”-thick slices (you can use any kind of sausage here ina ny style from pork to turkey to chicken from italian sausage style to ground!)
7 cups chicken stock (you can also use beef broth, turkey stock or veal broth)
4 oz. collard greens, stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 scallions, thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat cornmeal in a 10″ skillet over medium-high heat and cook, swirling pan constantly, until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Transfer cornmeal to a bowl; set aside. Heat oil in skillet and add sausages; cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a 6-qt. pot over high heat. Whisk in reserved cornmeal, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, whisking often, until cornmeal is tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in reserved sausages and collards and cook, stirring occasionally, until collards wilt, 15 minutes. Place eggs in a medium bowl and add 1 cup cornmeal mixture; whisk until smooth. Return mixture to pot and stir until incorporated; cook for 1 minute more and season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 6 serving bowls and garnish with scallions; serve hot.

And that dear readers is Sopa de Fuba! Fun to say and delicious to eat;) If you feel the winter blues coming on – make a batch of this, picture yourself here and you’ll feel instantly restored. Like a mini vacation to an ancient city…

Happy Autumn eating all you hearty ones!