Ingredients:
18 ounces Mild or Sweet Italian Sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 – 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional – if you like garlic!
8 – 10 red potatoes, cut into approx. 1 inch cubes
5 cups Chicken Broth
3 cups half and half
1 – 2 bunches kale, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. In a cast iron skillet or sauté pan, brown the Italian sausage in the casings. Once they are browned on all sides and cooked through, transfer them to a cutting board and let rest until cool enough to handle without burning your hands. Once they are cool enough to handle, slice into rounds between 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick (depending on your preference).
2. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, or until tender and golden. Add the bell pepper and garlic and sauté for a couple more minutes, until fragrant.
3. To the same pot add the potatoes, broth, half and half, and sausage. Cook over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the temperature to medium-low to low and simmer until the potatoes reach your desired tenderness – approximately 15 – 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the chopped kale and cook until just wilted. Serve immediately and top with freshly grated parmesan, if desired.
Notes:
The great thing about recipes like this is you can always change them up according to your preference.
If you don’t like kale, you can try swiss chard. If you want more (or less) potatoes, you can adjust that too.
If you need a vegetarian soup, you can omit the sausage, sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth and increase the vegetables. Maybe you really like mushrooms, you could try adding some sautéed mushrooms to the mix.