Italian Sausage and Kale Soup #Recipe @DonnaFaz

Please don’t let the kale put you off! This green leafy vegetable is nearly flavorless, but it’s packed with nutrition. What you will taste is everything else: Italian sausage, chicken broth, carrots, celery, onions, beans, fennel seeds, basil, and creamy potatoes. Mmmmm! A bowl of this hot soup and a slice of bread slathered with butter will cure whatever ails you. You have to try this recipe! Your family will love it. Mine does.

Italian Sausage and Kale Soup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, halved length-wise, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 bunches of kale, chopped, large stems removed

1 15-ounce can of cannelloni beans, rinsed, drained

32 ounces chicken broth (I use organic)

2-4 cups water

1 clove garlic, minced fine

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

6 medium-sized red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed, cubed

1.     Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large soup pot and turn heat to medium. Add the sausage and fry until brown, using spatula to break up the meat. Once there is no pink left, pour the sausage into a sieve to drain and set aside.

2.     Place the pot back on the burner. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onions, carrots, and celery. Sweat the vegetables for 5-7 minutes until the onions are slightly translucent.

3.     Add the sausage back into the pot. Then add the kale, beans, chicken broth and enough water to cover the ingredients. Stir in the garlic, basil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water as necessary to keep ingredients covered with liquid.

4.     Add the potatoes and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve with biscuits or hearty bread and butter.