Spicy Sausage Potato Kale Soup

Spicy Sausage Potato Kale Soup
Adapted from The Candid Appetite

This soup is very simple to make and tastes delicious. This is another soup recipe I will be making quite often. This recipe does not require a lot of seasonings because most of the aromatics comes from the turkey sausages. This soup is practically a complete meal in itself with the turkey sausages, potatoes and kale. The heavy cream adds a nice richness to the soup without being too heavy. With some crusty whole-wheat French bread, it's a very satisfying meal. And makes a good breakfast soup.

1 to 1.22 pounds sweet or hot Italian TURKEY sausages, casings removed
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (about 9.8 ounces)
3 large garlic cloves, finely minced (about 0.6 ounce)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
3 bunches of Lacinato kale, stemmed and thinly sliced (about 14.4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 medium-size or 2 large-size Yukon gold potatoes, UNpeeled and thinly sliced; then soaked in water to cover until needed (about 2 to 2.25 pounds)
8 cups Swanson brand 33% Less-Sodium Chicken Broth (64 ounces)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (4 ounces)

Heat a 6-quart stock pot over medium-high heat (8.0 on induction cook top) until hot. Brown the turkey sausages in a tablespoon of olive oil until browned, breaking up sausages as it is browning. If there are a lot of liquid released from the sausages, turn up heat to high heat and continue cooking. When all the liquid have evaporated, reduce heat back to medium-high heat. When sausages are done cooking, transfer sausages to a colander to drain. Set aside.

Using the same pot and over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. Add the onions and garlic. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook until onions are soft and lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the kale in 3 batches, allowing each batch to wilt down as it cooks. Stir in the nutmeg. Continue to cook the kale for another 3 minutes or until it turns bright green and completely wilted down. Stir in the sliced potatoes (drained) and turkey sausages.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring soup to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer (gradually 4.0 to 2.6 on induction cook top) and continue to simmer, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes or when potatoes are cooked tender. Taste to add more seasonings to your liking. For my taste, I only added another teaspoon of ground black pepper and no additional salt was necessary. Stir in the heavy cream. Increase heat to medium heat (5.0 on induction cook top). When soup starts to come to a boil, immediately turn off heat. Soup is ready to enjoy with some whole-wheat French bread smeared with some coconut oil.

Yield 6 to 8 servings