Monday, December 8, 2014

Kale, sausage and sweet potato soup


Another soup that I'll be adding to the rotation.

kale, sweet potato and sausage soup

We've already managed to polish off all the turkey stock I made from our Friendsgiving turkey and I'm sad about it (but grateful for the extra freezer space). Homemade stock is like an elixir and it makes everything taste a million times better. I don't have any special method, I just use the crockpot. For a 13 lb turkey I usually need to do it in two batches. I pick as much meat as I can off the bones, then add the bones to the crockpot along with whatever I have on hand (usually a few stalks of celery, leaves and all and a couple sad carrots and some shallots and any fresh herbs I have lying around - this time it was thyme and parsley) and cover it with cold filtered water. I prefer not to add onion, because I think the flavor can be a little overpowering in stock. I let it cook on low for at least twelve hours, then strain it, refrigerate it (you can skim the fat at this point, but I find that bone broth doesn't have much to skim) and portion it into freezer bags for later. It is the best thing.

This soup is a particularly good candidate for homemade stock because it's fairly broth-y. I'm hoping it's still delicious with store bought, since I don't really want to wait a whole year to make it again.

I tweaked this a bit because I wanted to use the sweet potatoes I had on hand and because I like hot sausage.


Kale, sweet potato and sausage soup (makes 6 servings, slightly modified from here)

14 oz hot pork sausage (I got it without casings)
8 cups kale (or more), stems removed, leaves sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
9 cups chicken or turkey stock
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into 1/4" pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

:: In a large stock pot, saute the sausage over medium high heat until browned. Remove and set aside (can drain on paper towels if you like). You can also cook whole sausages and slice them, as the original recipe suggests.

:: Add olive oil to the pan and saute the onions and carrots until soft (5 - 10 minutes). Add in the garlic and saute another 1 - 2 minutes.

:: Add broth, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add sausage and potatoes, cover and cook until potatoes are just starting to get tender (about 5 - 10 minutes, depending on your dice).

:: Add kale, cover and return to a simmer. Cook until the kale is tender and the potatoes are done, about 5 more minutes.

:: Season to taste with salt and pepper. This will depend on your stock (my homemade stuff has zero salt, so the soup needed a bit more than you would with boxed stock).


The sweet potatoes and sausage make this sweet and savory and I feel good about the fact that it gives you a substantial serving of greenery. I crammed two small bunches of kale in there, which I think was more than the eight cups it called for, but who wants to waste time measuring out cups of kale?

7 comments:

  1. Oh lord it sounds delicious. Would you ever add lentils? Or would that be too much?

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    1. I think lentils would be a wonderful addition! Especially beluga lentils, which hold their shape so beautifully. I think I'd cook them separately and then add them in right at the end.

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  2. I literally made this exact same recipe twice in the last 2 weeks, so weird! I used leeks instead of onions and fried some sage leaves/left them in to soak once the broth was added. The second time I used ground turkey and it was just as tasty. Such a good & relatively healthy idea!

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  3. Do you think you could add farro or quinoa? Would you need more broth?

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    1. I think you absolutely could! Depending on how much you want to add, you'd probably want a bit more broth. But I think you could get a cup or so of cooked grain in there without needing more broth.

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  4. I made something like this and added the leftover bits of Thanksgiving turkey- I add tortellini and add sweet potato (cooked) to my bowl as the family isn't so fond of it.

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  5. I just need to comment and say this has been my go to soup since you posted it. I make a big batch with lentils thrown in, and it gets me through the week. Thank you!

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