Forced to go to a certain Italian chain restaurant last week, we were despondent. Despite it’s bland cuisine, the place is eternally busy, usually with the bluehairs (they must hand out coupons at The Home), and a 45 minute wait does nothing to add to the appeal of the menu. This time we actually found something tasty though, a savory soup with spicy sausage and potatoes. If I may say so myself, this recipe is actually better…
The ingredients:
1 lb italian ground sausage
1 lb hot ground sausage
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups water
6 slices bacon, cooked hard and crumbled
4 chicken bullion cubes
2 cups kale, rinsed and finely shredded
8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
2/3 cup heavy cream
fresh black pepper
couple of pinches of kosher salt
The instructions:
Brown the sausage in a heavy skillet, to the point of being crumbly. Don’t worry if it looks dry, being in a soup for an hour will fix that. Drain and set aside.
Cook the bacon to a similar point of hardness. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a heavy stockpot (I recommend this one), throw the sausage and bacon back in, then add the butter, onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the sausage, bacon, bullion cubes, water, and potatoes and bring to a slow boil. Add the pepper and salt and turn the heat down to let simmer for 30 minutes. Check the salt and add more if needed. Then add the kale and heavy cream and let simmer 15 more minutes.
Serves about 8 people and goes great with your favorite crusty bread.
Check at DCWCasing.com what types of sausage might be the best for this recipe.