This is my husband’s favorite hearty winter soup; a hearty blend of locally grown goodness that somehow becomes much more than the sum of its parts. Specifically this is a potage; which sounds really fancy but simply means a really thick soup.

I could go on and on about how much I love soups, and I’ve already compiled a few of my other favorite soups in a blog a while back, “Simmering Through Winter: Soup Suite”. It takes you through making “Very Veggie Zuppa Toscana, my take on a Basic Veggie Soup and a Ham + Lentil (way better than your split pea soup!!) plus some tips and tricks to making amazing soups- like getting the herbs and spices you add to “bloom”, stock vs broth, etc.

But back to this amazing simple yet sublime soup.

Sausage, Kale + Potato Potage

  • 1 lb pork sausage (local makes a huge difference here!)
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp Oregano dried
  • 1-2 tsp Thyme dried
  • 2 tsp Celery leaf dried
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini (I use frozen)
  • 4 small or one huge russet style potato
  • 4-6 Cups torn Kale (I use frozen too)
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • Fresh parsley for serving (or any microgreens you happen to have)

Instructions:
Sautée Italian pork sausage until fully cooked, can spoon off some of the fat if desired (I find that locally raised pork products don’t have nearly as much fat as commercially raised kinds). Then add onions and sautée a few minutes, then garlic, then herbs.

Let the herbs ‘bloom’; this is when you let the dried herbs cook in fat before adding liquid to the pot – this is soup MAGIC!

Once you enjoy the aromas of all the herbs, add in the ‘wet’ ingredients; kale, zucchini, then potatoes and stock. This simmers only as long as the potatoes need to cook.

Serve with warm crusty bread, adding fresh greens, cheese or roasted squash/pumpkin seeds to the bowl just before serving. Or, you know, eat it right out of the pot…

Enjoy digging in to this hearty potage!

Michelle