Sausage, Potato, & Kale Soup with Tortellini

January and February are by far the hardest months for me to get through. During these cold, gray, Winter months I find myself in a deep, inky funk where I start thinking, “What’s the point?” about everything I’m doing and thinking. Have you been there? Do you know what I mean? Ugh. Thank goodness for yummy, pick-me-up foods like this sausage, potato, and kale soup. It keeps me going and warms me up.

Well, that was kind of a depressing paragraph. It must be January. Actually, there are some good things about January (maybe one or two), and one of them is that our hot tub is the place to be. Tonight while soaking in it, I found myself wondering what it would be like if the whole thing were filled with this kale soup, Patch Adam’s style.

Hungry? Grab yourself a potato or tortellini that’s floating by. Thirsty? Drink some of the broth. Make sure you don’t get any of that kale stuck in your teeth, that would be embarrassing. Let’s not talk about the sausage.

Yeah, it’s gross. But thinking about stuff like that is also fun, especially with my kids. We love thinking out “What If?” scenarios together. We’ve come up with some doozies; most of the credit goes to my kids. What if the world were made of candy? What if this were Spider Land? What if everyone in the world were named Spiltzer? Try it some time. Name your next kid Spiltzer.

Here’s another one. What if you made some of this sausage, potato, and kale soup? We love it at our house. This recipe is super-sized, and feeds about 8-10 people. When it comes to soup, I don’t mess around. I make large pots of it so that we have left overs for an extra dinner and a lunch (or two). That’s three birds with one stone, folks. Count ’em: first dinner, second dinner, at least 1 lunch. Boom, baby. Kale soup for the win!

Also, a soup’s flavor gets better on day two. It would be a shame to make a soup and eat it all on day one. Wow. I’m hungry. Let’s freaking cook this soup.

Sausage, Potato, & Kale Soup with Tortellini

Ingredients

• 1 lb. sausage
• 1/2 large yellow onion, medium dice
• 2 medium carrots, medium dice
• 2 medium celery stalks (ribs), medium dice
• 1 medium jalapeño chile, small dice
• 8 large garlic cloves, rough chop
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
• 12 cups chicken stock, divided
• 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
• 2 medium russet potatoes, sliced to 1/4″ rounds
• 2 cups tortellini, small & tri-color with cheese stuffing
• 5 cups curly kale, chopped (~4 large leaves)

Equipment

• 5 to 7 quart soup/stock pot
• Immersion blender (or regular blender). I heart this Breville one, but there are less expensive options.
• General prepping stuff like a chef’s knife and cutting board.

Method

Alrighty then, gather your ingredients. This picture gives you an idea of what you’ll have, not necessary the exact amount of each thing.

Prep your vegetables by cutting the onions, carrots, celery, and jalapeño in an even dice. This is a mirepoix variation, fyi. (Don’t forget to wash/peel them first!) Rough chop the kale, and slice the potatoes to about 1/4″ thick. You can place your potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning before they’re ready to add to the pot. Or you can prep them while the other ingredients are cooking. Choose your own adventure.

Brown your sausage in a 5 to 7 quart soup or stock pot over medium heat. Once browned, remove that stuff and place it on a plate with a paper towel or two. We want all the excess grease off it that we can. Leave a bit of the grease in the pan, just enough to sauté those veggies. Toss in your mireopoix mixture (onions, carrots, celery, jalapeño) and cook until they begin to brown, at which point you’ll toss in your garlic and red pepper flakes.

It’s time to add liquids and blend.

Option 1: Immersion Blender
Add about half of the stock and bring it to a simmer. Now it’s time to blend it all together. I use an immersion blender (seriously, it’s the best thing ever. Every kitchen needs one). Make sure to blend until there are no more chunky bits.

Option 2: Regular Blender
Scrape the sautéed veggies into a blender then cover with enough stock to give it liquid to blend and not leave chunks. Once blended, pour back into your pot, add the rest of the broth, and bring to a simmer.

After the broth is simmering, add the potatoes, sausage, and tortellini. Keep broth at a simmer, both the spuds and tortellini should take about 11-14 minutes to cook once simmering. When there are only 5 minutes left, add in your chopped kale. You’ll know the soup is done with the potatoes and tortellini are al dente. The kale should remain a deep green.

The potato, sausage, and kale soup (with tortellini!) is done! Serve and enjoy!

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Sausage Potato and Kale Soup with Tortellini

Yum

Print Recipe

This is one of our favorite soups to make when the temperatures start to drop and the snow falls. The tortellini can be omitted if you’re eating low-carb, but adds a fun and colorful element that the kids love. Use a spicy or link sausage to change up the flavor and texture.

• CourseDinner
• CuisineAmerican

Servings	Prep Time
10 people	20 minutes

Cook Time

55 minutes

Servings Prep Time 10 people 20 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Sausage Potato and Kale Soup with Tortellini Yum Print Recipe This is one of our favorite soups to make when the temperatures start to drop and the snow falls. The tortellini can be omitted if you’re eating low-carb, but adds a fun and colorful element that the kids love. Use a spicy or link sausage to change up the flavor and texture. CourseDinner CuisineAmerican Servings Prep Time 10 people 20 minutes Cook Time 55 minutes Servings Prep Time 10 people 20 minutes Cook Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. sausage
• 1/2 large yellow onion medium dice
• 2 medium carrots medium dice
• 2 medium celery stalks medium dice
• 1 medium jalapeño small dice
• 8 cloves garlic large, rough chop
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes optional
• 12 cups chicken stock divided
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 medium russet potatoes sliced to 1/4" rounds
• 2 cups tortellini small, tri-color with cheese stuffing
• 5 cups curly kale chopped (~4 large leaves)

Servings: people

Instructions

1. Brown sausage in a 5-quart pan over medium heat. Once browned, remove the sausage to a paper-toweled plate to let the oil drain. Keep a small portion of sausage grease in pan, and add the onion, carrot, celery, and jalapeño.
2. When the vegetables are slightly browned, add in the garlic and (optional) red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until garlic and flakes are browned. Add 6 cups of your chicken stock, and bring to a simmer.
3. By this time, your vegetables should be soft. Use an immersion blender to evenly blend the vegetables and stock together until no chunks remain.*
4. When the broth and vegetables are fully blended, add the remaining 6-cups of stock and the liquid smoke. Bring broth to a simmer. If you have any grease patches floating along the top, now is a good time to skim them off.
5. Pat any extra grease off the sausage with a paper towel and then add to the simmering broth. Also add in your potato and tortellini. Bring back to a simmer and let cook for 12-15 minutes. Add Kale and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Soup is done when potatoes can be pierced with a fork but not fall apart. Tortellini should be al dente (slightly firm but easily gives).

Recipe Notes

* If you don’t have an immersion blender, that’s okay. I made soup for years using my counter-top blender. Before adding the first bit of broth, scrape your browned vegetables into a blender and then add enough stock to let the vegetables liquefy. Pour back into your pot and add the rest of the stock. You may have to do this in batches depending on your blender size.

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