Vegetable Sausage Stew

This is a great winter meal. It's very hearty and delicious. We had kielbasa a lot when I was growing up as a kid. I remember just absolutely dreading those kielbasa nights, especially because I think they were served with boiled cabbage. Yuck! Well, Michael has convinced me to try a lot more meat varieties than I have in the past several years. My mom was shocked when she heard I had agreed to cooking a kielbasa meal. . And guess what?! I loved it! The sour cream mixture that goes along with the stew is quite tasty too. We served it with some tasty bread. We just sliced a baguette, dabbed the pieces with a mixture of Smart Balance and freshly minced garlic, then toasted them for about 7 minutes. The stew recipe was modified from Food Network; serves 6-8.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon paprika, plus more for garnish
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 14 ounces light kielbasa, cut into small chunks
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 14 ounces small red-skinned or new potatoes (6 to 8), quartered
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly torn into pieces
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and glistening, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the oil turns deep red, about 1 minute.
2. Add the flour and cook until just toasted, 30 more seconds. Immediately whisk in 4 cups water.
   
3. Add the kielbasa, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
4. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened, about 20 minutes.
   
5. Add the vinegar and season with pepper.
6. Combine about half of the cilantro with the sour cream in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.
   
7. Ladle the stew into bowls; top with the remaining cilantro, a dollop of herbed sour cream and a sprinkle of paprika.