Sausage + Kale Soup

What I love about this soup, besides how simple it is to make, is that it's packed with vegetables and flavor, it's easy to digest, and most importantly it's yummy and my son loves it. This soup has made it into our fall weekly rotation at my house.

I use my food processor to do the veggie prep for me. I love how the sautéed small chopped and pureed vegetables impart their flavor and also make it easier to digest (less work chewing!). 

Ingredients

• 4 sausages/or about a pound of bulk sausage (not the pre-cooked kind. I often pick mild Italian. Use whichever kind you like keeping in mind that it will impart its flavor on your soup)

• 1-2 cloves minced garlic

• 2 stalks celery

• 1 medium-large yellow onion

• 2 medium carrots

• ¼  - ½  bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley

• 1 bunch Dino kale

• 1 can of cannellini or navy beans (I like Jovial or Eden brands as they are soaked and pressure cooked for easier digestion and nutrient absorption)

• 1-2 quarts chicken bone broth

• avocado oil, ghee, or other healthy fat for cooking

• pinch of chili flakes (make it a generous pinch if you want more spice)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Wash and de-stem the kale. Rough chop and put in the food processor and pulse until small pieces. Set aside.

2. Wash and rough chop the celery, onion, carrot, and parsley. Put them into your food processor and process them until they are pureed. You could forgo this and just finely dice them. Your preference. I like it either way.

3. Meanwhile have some lard or ghee heating up in a soup pot and add your chili flakes if using. Then add the processed veggies. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Add in the garlic and give it a quick stir, then add the sausage, removing it from the casing if it has one. Break it up and sauté (I push the vegetables to one side of the pot as I add and break up the sausage so it gets a little surface time and then mix it all together). Add the steamed kale, cannellini beans if using and then the broth.

4. Let simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, adjust seasoning to taste.

   Great served with creme fraiche, shaved pecorino, and/or sauerkraut