Trahana Soup with sausage and tomato is the ultimate comfort food! Warming and spicy, with a thick and creamy texture.
Trahana soup is a real favorite wintry food for Greeks. It's so filling and fuelling that in the Northern parts of Greece, people eat it even for Breakfast (the feta cheese version though).
Table Of Contents
About Trahana
Trahana is a wheat pasta the size of cous cous made with milk if you want to know more about Trahana and the difference between sour and sweet Trahana see my other Trahana Soup recipe.
Sour Trahana goes best with the tomato and sausage flavors, that's why it's used for this soup. That doesn't mean you can't use sweet/plain Trahana.
What Does This Soup Taste Like?
This soup tastes like a tomato pasta soup with the addition of a spicy sausage flavor. The only difference with pasta is that Trahana makes the soup creamier in texture. Because, unlike plain pasta, Trahana is made with milk also. Whereas, sour Trahana also gives a slightly tart flavor (similar to fermented products like yogurt or feta cheese).
Sausage + Substitutes
The Sausage: I'm using fresh Greek pork sausage with leeks for this recipe. Which is something you probably won't be able to find where you live but that's not a problem because you can use any pork sausage you like to make this Trahana Soup.
However, the second best option would be Italian sausage because it's very similar to Greek sausage.
Sausage Substitutes: You can skip sausage altogether and make this soup with pieces of pork or pancetta.
Make It Without Sausage
In many parts of Greece, they cook Trahana plainly with tomato. This means you can follow this recipe without adding the sausage at all! In that case, stir in some crumbled feta cheese right at the end to melt into the soup.
Cooking Trahana Tips
Trahana is pasta, this means that you need to keep an eye on it and stir it often so it won't form lumps or stick to the bottom of the pot. And just like pasta, add it to the pot when the soup is boiling.
As for cooking time, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes over medium-low heat. And always let the Trahana cook over a gentle simmer.
Storing Leftovers
Trahana soup is not the ideal food to store its leftovers. Because it thickens a lot the longer it sits as the Trahana pasta absorbs all the liquid and becomes overcooked.
But if you don't mind that, you can store it in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, add some vegetable, chicken, or beef stock to turn it into soup again. Adding water would make its flavor bland.
Serve With
Serve this Trahana soup with tomato and sausage, with crumbled feta cheese on top. I like to make it hot by sprinkling some cayenne pepper or hot red pepper flakes on it, adjusting the amount depending on the temperature outside.
Some crusty grilled sourdough bread and freshly ground pepper are also a must. Another great thing to serve with this soup is a feta grilled cheese sandwich. Cream the feta with a fork and spread it between two slices of whole wheat sourdough bread. Ideally use a Panini Press to cook the sandwich otherwise a hot grill pan will do.
Recipe
Sour Trahana Soup with Sausage and Tomato
Ingredients
- 180 grams (1 cup) Sour Trahana
- 250 grams (8.8 ounce) Greek Sausage or Italian
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1250 ml (5 cups) hot water or stock
- OPTIONAL: hot red pepper or pepper flakes to serve with
Instructions
- Cut the sausage into small bite-sized pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a medium-sized cooking pot.
- Add the sausage and cook for about 2 minutes stirring until nicely browned.
- Take the pot off the heat and transfer the sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to remove any brown or burned bits.
- Return the pot to the heat.
- Saute onion over medium-low heat and once softened add the garlic.
- Add tomato paste and cook for a minute while stirring.
- Pour in the water or stock and the dried oregano.
- Add the Trahana once the soup starts to bubble.
- Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often so it won't stick to the bottom.
- Return the sausage to the pot. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes stirring often until Trahana is tender and soup thickened.
- Serve with freshly ground pepper on top, hot red pepper, or hot red pepper flakes.
this was great. my wife is greek and she loved it