Sometimes I just want to make soup. And eat soup. And I love to try and work with what I have on hand. Today was a perfect example of that. I had an eggplant I wanted to use which was the inspiration for my soup. So I thought garlic, sausage, onion, mushroom, lemon. Maybe I was thinking Greek. So here’s what I did:

1 large sweet onion
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 medium eggplant
4 celery stalks
4 large garlic cloves
1 can garbanzo beans
32 ounces chicken stock
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried chile flakes
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt (or kosher regular)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
the juice from 1/2 of a lemon
the leaves from 3 fresh thyme sprigs

I cubed the eggplant and soaked in salt water for about 15 minutes, then drained. I sautéed the onions (diced) and celery (sliced) for about 10 minutes in olive oil. Then I added the mushrooms and sausage and cooked on medium for about 10 minutes. Then I added the eggplant and cooked, covered, about 15 minutes. I added the garbanzo beans, stock, chile flakes, salt, vinegar, lemon and thyme and let simmer over medium low heat, covered, for about 45 minutes. Serve with some warm crusty bread. Bon Appetit!