“Between soup and love, the first is better.” -old Spanish saying
On a cold day, nothing is more satisfying than a hot bowl of soup. It’s like putting on your favorite sweatshirt. I would know, I live it sweatsuits. Soup might be my favorite thing to make. The ritual, the smell, the comfort it brings; from beginning to end, there isn’t a part I don’t enjoy. I like to think of soup as the original “fast food.” I love that you can throw a bunch of vegetables, some broth and spices into a pot and an hour later have a meal. I make a lot of soups and stews for my clients during the winter. I can make it ahead and all they have to do is heat it up. Served with a hunk of bread and butter, lunch is served.
You just can’t beat a hot bowl of soup to warm you up after a morning of skiing.
Kale doesn’t get a lot of play in the American household and it’s a shame because not only is it packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, iron and potassium, it’s delicious.
I promise.
If you haven’t tried kale before, this is a great recipe to start with. Cooking it in the stock softens the tough and sometimes bitter leaves and goes perfect with the sausage and creamy soup. I make this soup often following the recipe below but switching out the sausage and greens depending on what I have on hand. For this soup, I used Aidells gruyere and garlic chicken sausage. They are precooked and so versatile when you need to make a quick dinner. I think I bought them at Costco….
I like to make this soup the day before or even two days before I plan on serving it. With any soup, the flavor gets better if it can sit for a few days.
Here’s to skiing hard and warmer our bellies with good eats!
This hearty soup is perfect to warm your belly after a long day of skiing and snowboarding. Like all soups, this is particularly good if you make it the day before.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 oz cooked chicken sausage, 1/2 inch slices
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 red potatoes, diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 32 oz chicken stock
- 4 cups kale, washed, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup half and half
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Over medium-high, heat oil in stock pan and brown chicken sausage.
- Once the sausage is cooked, remove them to another plate. Lower heat to medium and add onion and celery. Cook until soft about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add potatoes and flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken stock and kale. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.
- Add cooked sausages back into soup along with the half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- *After adding half and half, take care not to boil. Serve.
Welcome to my kitchen! I'm a personal chef, wife and mama of two young boys. I Love butter, snowboarding and laughing out loud.
This soup does sound great–I just taught a cooking class on soups this past week. Wish I would have had this recipe!
I love soups! So easy to make and perfect for this time of year.
I hosted a dinner party with our dear friends and neighbors tonight and cooked this soup – everyone loved it – even the 5 children age 1 1/2 to 4! Comments from guests included, “delicious”, “rich with flavor” and “smells yummy!”
Thank you for sharing it. I love cooking up large pots of soup throughout the winter season – please add more to your site!
p.s. my friend took a photo of me holding my little one while standing at the stove stirring the soup – its so cute! I don’t see how to post a photo here, so I’ll add it to your FB page.
Thanks, Janine! I will make sure to check the picture out on facebook and I promise to post more yummy soup recipes- my favorite during the winter!
My five-year-old son commented, “I really don’t love this soup. I have to admit, I absolutely love it!”
I love it Jill!