This week’s Imperfect Produce delivery (which I’m obsessed with, by the way) included some lovely curly kale, creamy yellow potatoes, and small yellow onions.
Duh, the first thing that popped into my mind was creamy kale and potato soup!
I mean, you can’t really go wrong with tender green kale, creamy potatoes, Italian sausage, and crumbly bacon bits.
This soup is awesome because it uses relatively simple ingredients and doesn’t require a lot of effort.
But it feeds a crowd & everyone loves it.
All you have to do is chop up some bacon, onion, garlic, and kale, and the rest is simply cooking everything in one pot.
Easy peasy.
I totally recommend serving this with some Herbed Garlic Bread on the side for soaking up that luscious broth.
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 19 oz uncooked mild or spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 heaping cups diced yellow potatoes (unpeeled)
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups (very tightly packed) roughly chopped curly kale leaves (stems removed)
- 1.5 cups half and half
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Add the diced bacon to a large enameled cast iron dutch oven. Cook over medium-high heat until nice and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and let cool on a paper-towel lined plate.
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Next, add the uncooked Italian sausage to the dutch oven. Use a spatula to break up the meat, and let it cook until well browned and broken up into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage to a bowl, and set aside for later.
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Add the diced onion to the dutch oven, and let cook in the bacon/sausage fat until softened and just lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
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Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano to the dutch oven and let cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
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Add the potatoes to the dutch oven and toss to combine with the onions and spices. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer & let cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
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Once the potatoes are tender, stir the kale into the soup along with the reserved sausage. Let cook for just a few minutes, until the kale is tender.
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Add the half and half to the pot and bring to a simmer.
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Turn off the heat and ladle the soup into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the crispy bacon bits and season each bowl with a sprinkle of salt & freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!
