Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup

Kale, never eaten it, until yesterday. I understand it's quite the "it" food right now. I've seen kale chips at Trader Joe's and have read about its health benefits. Then, I saw this awesome recipe at Serena Cooks From Scratch for an Olive Garden knock off Sausage, Potato, & Kale soup. Now, I can't tell you the last time I went to the Olice Garden, so I have no idea what soup she's referring to, but bacon meets potatoes and Parmesan cheese sounded delicious.


Over the weekend, I bought a bag of frozen kale, chicken broth, and some sweet Italian sausage. Apparently, I didn't read the ingredients on Serena's recipe very well because I didn't buy cream or Parmesan cheese. I had dried oregano but no rosemary (though I suppose I could have snipped some of this bush that's right on the corner). I had some Yukon gold potatoes in the fridge so I used those instead of russets. There are some people who follow recipes to the T. (Where exactly does that saying come from?). I pretty much never follow recipes. I think recipes are just a starting point and you put your own personal touch to it.

So I give you my version of Sausage, Potato, and Kale soup. By the way, I tossed in my entire 1 lb bag of frozen kale. As hearty as it made my soup, it seemed to suck up all the broth, so in my recipe below, I'm cutting it down to 1/2 lb frozen kale.

update: While I've been enjoying my soup, I've been thinking some cannellini beans might be nice in there too.

Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

adapted from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
Ingredients:
3/4 pounds sweet Italian sausage
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 t garlic, crushed
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t oregano, dried
3 Yukon gold potatoes, medium sized, sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 t salt
1/8 t ground black pepper
1 qt chicken broth
1/2 lb frozen Kale (large stems removed and chopped)

Optional:
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Milk
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, brown sausage. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until cooked down. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add diced bacon to pot, adding a few tablespoons of chicken broth or liquid from the sausage and mushrooms to help render the fat. When bacon is starting to crisp, add diced onion.
3. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent. Return sausage, mushrooms, and their juices to pot and add sliced potatoes. Add crushed garlic, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
4. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
5. Add frozen kale and return to a boil. Simmer additional 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings as desired.

Enjoy!