Sausage and Kale Soup

The other day, I swung through the grocery store right after work without a list, but with a rough idea of what I wanted to make for the week. I knew that sausage and kale soup existed, but I didn't already have a recipe in mind. I picked up the kale and onion, figuring those were no-brainers. I chose a chicken and apple sausage because I'm currently eating foods without added sugar...for the next few weeks, anyhow--for more on that, read about the Whole 30. I realized I might need a few other ingredients, so I did a bit of googling and found this Food and Wine Kale and Potato soup which was really not very complicated. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry! That's winning to me.

I decided to modify this recipe a little bit. For one, the sausage I bought only had 3/4 pounds of sausage, and I didn't want to purchase another package so I decided to try it out--I didn't miss that extra sausage at all! I just cut the links into quarters lengthwise before slicing them up, and every bite has a little bit of sausage. I also wanted to use fewer white potatoes (even though they are now allowed on the Whole 30, I am a total potato addict, and am trying to cut back on potatoes for the next few weeks). I decided that apple sausage seemed like a friendly flavor for sweet potato, so I made up the difference with diced sweet potato. You might see in the picture that I added some leftover hashbrowns--just trying to use up what was in my fridge, not part of the recipe.

This would be a delicious soup for the fall, but I think you should cook outside the box and make it this week!

Ingredients

3/4 lbs   sausage (I recommend Turkey or Chicken)

1 large   onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 quart  chicken stock

1 pound Kale--stemmed and torn into small pieces

2 cups   water (I inverted the proportions of stock to water--I usually buy quarts of stock)

2-3 med. boiling potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes

1 med.    sweet potato, peeled and diced into pretty small chunks

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Process

1. Microwave the sweet potatoes in a bowl for between 45 seconds and a minute and a half depending on how small you diced them. You want them to be softened enough that they will cook quickly in the soup.
2. With a little cooking oil, cook the sausages over medium heat to get some color on the outside (a little char equals great flavor in your soup!). When they're finished, pull out the sausage and set them on a plate for later.
3.  Remove all but a little of the grease from cooking the sausage, then put in the onion. Cook for a few minutes until soft and clear. Add the garlic, and cook a minute longer (maybe 6 minutes total, depending on how hot your pan is)
4. Add the chicken stock, water, and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. While you're waiting for the soup to boil, slice the turkey sausage (be careful if it's still hot!). Slice the sausages into quarters lengthwise, then slice into small pieces along the sausage.
5. Once the soup is boiling, add the sweet and white potatoes and the sausage. The white potatoes will cook while the sweet potatoes finish what you started in the microwave. Let the soup simmer for 2 minutes (I let it go for 5).
6. Add the kale and let it cook down for about 6 minutes, until tender and all wilted in. Add pepper to taste.