Kale and Potato Soup with Sausage

Soup is wonderful. It satisfies and usually doesn’t take too much time or effort. Though the weather has been all over the place here in Portland, Aaron and I are both still craving soup. I think the Le Creuset has something to do with it. Can I just take another moment and talk about how wonderful it is? While making this soup, some of the onions did that thing they do and made some black crusted on stuff on the bottom of the pot. I freaked out a bit because when I made this soup in another pot, the same thing happened. Only with that one, I spent the better part of a week soaking it and trying to get that stuff off. Not with the Le Creuset. It came right off in the wash. I call that a win.

And so is this soup. It’s hearty without leaving your stuffed and is the perfect vehicle for a crunchy, crusty bread. It was also really easy to throw together because I had basically everything already in the house. I substituted veggie broth for the chicken broth, chicken sausage for the pork sausage, and a very large russet potato for the Yukon Gold, but I think my version is probably similar to the original and very, very good.

Kale and Potato Soup with Sausage slightly modified from Serious Eats:

Serves 4-6

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ lb. chicken sausage, casings removed
2 medium onions, sliced thin
5 cloves garlic, chopped (1 more than the original)
1 large bunch kale, stems removed and cut into ½” ribbons
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 c. veggie broth
Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until crumbled and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Add onion and cook until soft and beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes more. Add kale, potatoes, and reserved sausage, along with a couple pinches of salt. Cook about three minutes longer, then add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until the kale and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide into bowls and top with fresh black pepper and grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

This soup is so good! I really like the way the caramelized onions add some depth to the soup. The only thing I would change about it would be slightly more garlic. I only went one above the original and though I used fairly large cloves of garlic, it really could have used a bit more of that garlic flavor. Still, this is a very good and easy soup and I will be trying it out again soon.