Sausage and Kale Soup

Serves 4
Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Lost River Market & Deli now has chicken sausage. I decided to buy some and give it a try. Jim really liked this soup. I like my food to have a little more kick to it, so I drizzled some hot sauce over mine. We both loved the addition of the kale. You could certainly add any leafy greens to this basic soup. To add more fiber, use cannelloni beans instead of potatoes. To make this a vegetarian soup, substitute the vegetable stock and vegetarian sausage for the chicken broth and sausage.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes or more to taste
5 potatoes cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded
12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons

In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add kale and sausage.
Simmer until kale is wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.

**To add more fiber, use cannelloni beans instead of potatoes. To make this a vegetarian soup, substitute the vegetable stock and vegetarian sausage for the chicken broth and sausage.