Rustic Cabbage Stew

I made this up one day when I felt like doing theme nights for our dinners...different types of cuisine for each night: Mexican, Italian, Japanese, American, Thai, Russian. This was for Russian night. Most Russian cabbage type soups/stews usually involve a tomato base and pickled cabbage (we'll get to that recipe later) but I took a little different route this night and liked the outcome. My brother-in-law (who lived in Russia for a while) got our leftovers last time and ate it all before my sister even got to taste it, so I believe it was a hit.

We had it with Russian rye bread (you can get some good rye at the European Market at 4700 S. and 900 E. if you live in Salt Lake area).

I didn't write the recipe down that night but recreated it today and got pretty close to my original creation. Ben said it was just as good.

I like my stews like this to have a good spicy feel (it helps accentuate the hot, comforting essence of soup) but you may wish to leave out the extra red pepper flakes and let the sausage be all the spice you use.

Ingredients:
1/4 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 oz. hot spicy chicken or turkey or pork sausage (I just bought one link at fresh meat counter)
1 14 oz. can white beans
1/2 head of fresh cabbage, sliced
4 cup chicken broth
1-2 cup water
1/2 tsp coriander
few turns of cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Saute onion and sausage in pot until a little brown, add garlic for a minute then add everything else. Let stew (or boil) for a good 15-20 min. until cabbage is relatively soft. You may grate a little parmesan cheese on top if you are feeling sassy.