http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabanos

Probably not. What's called "Italian sausage" in the US usually contains
fennel and anise and comes in various degrees of hotness. It also tends to
be rather soft and moist and many recipes call for removing the stuffing
from the casing and breaking it up, typically into a sauce.

It doesn't look like you could get any of those effects with kabanos...

We're lucky here in Bodrum that we have a sausage-maker-in-residence who can
make just about any style of sausage you want to order. I had him do me up a
couple of meters of pure pork spicy Italian.

http://www.thesausageking.co.uk/index.html

Here's a nice soup that uses ground beef, it tastes a lot like Eggplant
Parmesan.  Eggplant is called Aubergine in some places.

Eggplant Supper Soup

2 tbs. butter 200 cal, 0 carb
2 tbs.olive oil or salad oil 200 cal, 0 carb
1 medium-sized onion, chopped 42 cal, 9 carb, - 2 fiber, net 7
1 lb. lean ground beef 1223 cal, 0 carb, 83 g fat, prot 111
1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb.), unpeeled, diced 142 cal, carb 33, -14
fiber, net 19, prot 6
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed  4 carb, 1 carb
1/2 C. each chopped carrot and sliced celery 24 cal, carb 6, -2 fiber, net
4, prot 1
1 large can (about 28 ounces) tomatoes 232 cal, carb 56, -8 fiber, net 48,
prot 8
2 cans (about 14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth 8 cal, 2 carb
1 tsp. Splenda (optional)
1/2 tsp. each pepper and ground nutmeg
1 tbs. minced parsley  negligible
Salt
Grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in oil in a deep 4- to 5-quart pan over medium heat. Add onion
and cook, stirring often, until soft (about 5 minutes). Crumble in beef and
cook, stirring often, until lightly browned. Stir in eggplant, garlic,
carrot and celery. Cut up tomatoes; stir in tomatoes and their liquid,
broth, sugar, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high heat; then
reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add parsley, season to
taste with salt. To serve, ladle soup into bowls; offer cheese to add to
taste. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Totals,  2075 cal, 54 g fat, 81 net carb,  126 prot,

And here's my favorite sausage soup, you can use any kind of sausage,
really.

Sausage Soup Olé by MarieAnn

1 lb. smoked sausage (cut in 1 in. slices, or diced, as you prefer)  12
1 can (14-15 oz.) stewed tomatoes  27-4=23
1 can (14-15 oz.) sliced or diced tomatoes in juice  14
1 can (15-16 oz.) pinto beans, undrained  65-20=45  You can use black soy
beans and reduce the carbs here to 1 net carb..
1 can(14 oz.) chicken broth
1/2 of a medium head of cabbage, chopped fairly large  25-10=15
1 Tbs. chili powder  4-3=1
[2 tsp. sugar or substitute (8 if used)] optional
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced  0
1 medium size onion,chopped  9-2=7
2 cloves garlic, minced  1

TOTAL   168-39=129, makes approx 3 quarts, 6 2-cup servings.  Per serving
426 cals, 29 g fat, 21 net carbs-14 with the soy beans, 17 g protein.

Put all ingredients in soup pot. This will look to thick to be soup, but
will become less thick as cabbage cooks down. Lower heat and simmer from 30
to 60 minutes, depending on how soft you prefer your cabbage.

What Americans call "Italian sausage" is soft raw meat with spices.
Any soft raw sausage should work to some degree.  Places near
me have Polska Kielbasa either cooked or raw and the raw version
works okay as a substitute.

Italian sausage also comes in bulk and is formed into patties.  Any
ground meat with spices added could be a substitute.

When I looked at the kabanos article in wiki it was a cooked
sausage mid-way between soft and hard.

Here's my recipe:

Italian Sausage

1 pound ground pork (454 grams)
1 teaspoon salt (6 grams)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (.5 gram)
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (.5 gram)
2 1/2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds (5 grams)
2-3 tablespoons water (30-45 ml)

Just smoosh together in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or foil and
refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight.

To cook - form 6 patties from the meat and pan fry until thoroughly
cooked.

Myra

I don't know what 'kabanos' are, but it's a *great* Scrabble word!
                                     :-D