Potato Soup with Kale and Sausage

       Okay, I have a recipe to post now J My problem is not a lack of original recipes to share. I have a computer full of recipes! It is really the photos that slow me down. Getting a good photo is difficult and half the time I make something and forget to get a picture.I just made a favorite pumpkin recipe but took it to my daughter’s art reception with a bunch of other food and was so busy I forgot to take a picture! But I have a photo to share with today’s fall recipe!

One of the reasons I love fall cooking because I love soups. You can get so much flavor in a soup. You can mix in all kinds of good things and adjust it as you go! I love a nice hot bowl of soup with some kind of crusty bread or corn bread muffin or perhaps a batch of pumpkin biscuits…mmmm!

Here is another one of my signature soups. My mom declares that this is the best  soup I make.  This one is a hearty bowl of intense  yet comforting flavors. I first began experimenting with this recipe after tasting Olive garden’s Tuscana Potato soup but soon added other layers as I researched various potato sausage soups such as Portuguese versions. This recipe is blend of potato sausage soup from several cultures.

      
          By the way, this can easily be made vegetarian but omitting sausage and using vegetable broth.The sausage adds a lot of spiciness so do add extra spice, salt and pepper.

It is just fine for lactose intolerant to make without cream/milk. The big flavors in this soup make it versatile.

One of the things I do to make this soup is to bake about half of the potatoes and boil the other half. You don’t have to do this but I like the texture it gives the soup. You can use all russet potatoes or part russet and part red or white. The mix is nice because russets tend to be flakier and break up well and reds or whites are waxy and absorb less water, keeping their shape better.

Any kind of bulk, ground sausage will work but the hot Italian is my favorite, of course J

 A word about kale- it is a powerhouse of great nutritional value and you should be eating it often. Seriously great nutrition with a good taste.

Purple kale is another variety along with Dino kale which is good in the soup

It is a  near perfect protein and an incredible source of Vitamin K at 684% and Vitamin A at 206% of the RDA. It is an excellent source of Vitamin C, B6, manganese, and calcium and a good source of many other B vitamins, copper, potassium with some iron and magnesium. It is high in phytonutrients which fight cancer. Kale has more calcium per calorie than dairy products and may be better absorbed  This soup, along with kale chip recipe on here which you must try, are great ways to have kale because it tastes so good!!

Potato Soup with Kale and Sausage

  3 -4  russet potatoes with nice skins for baking

 2 -3  Russet, white, red potatoes or  peeled and chopped

  12 -16 oz  ground sausage,  Hot Italian is best

  1/2  cup  onion, diced  

  3  cloves  garlic, minced or pressed

  1   teaspoon herb blend such as Herbs de Provence  or Italian

½   teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flake,  crushed fennel seed and/or crushed rosemary, optional

 4 cups  low-sodium Chicken or veggie broth

 1cup water, or so as needed for consistency of soup

salt  and pepper to taste

3   cups or so chopped Kale

½   cup  chopped parsley -- optional

  3-4   green onions, finely sliced,optional

1/3 cup half and half, cream or milk, optional

Preheat oven to 400. Wash, dry baking  russets. You may, if you wish, rub a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with  kosher salt and pepper. You may place them in foil for softer skin. Bake until soft, about 45-50 minutes. .( If you are in a hurry you may pre-cook in microwave  for 7 minutes and then place in foil and finish in oven for 20 min or until soft).

Put sausage in large pot or dutch oven; break up as cooking on med-low heat. While sausage cooks, prepare the rest of the potatoes by peeling and dicing.  When sausage is just about  done, drain well. There should be very little grease. Add onion, garlic, spices to pan. Cook for a 5 minutes then add cut up potatoes for a few more minutes and then broth, water to cover about a couple inches or so over potatoes.  Cook until potatoes are very tender, around 18-24minutes. 

Once baked potatoes are cooked, cool slightly. Chop potatoes, making sure to cut skin into small pieces. Remove large pieces of potato skins. Add to soup. To prep the Kale, cut leaves off tough stalks and veins and chop well.

Add parsley, green onions. If soup is very thick, add a bit more water. If it is thin, cook a while uncovered, or add several spoons instant potato flakes. Turn off heat and cool slightly , if using,  stir in cream or milk,  and heat but do not boil.  You may skip milk but it does add a really nice creaminess to the broth.

Recipe by Denise Birdsall

Serving Size  : 8-10 

While I did forget to take pictures of the food, here are more important picture from my daughter's art show.