Tuscan Kale and Potato Soup
I get excited for soup weather. Just the thought of snuggling up in cozy sweaters and having a nice big bowl of hearty delicious soup just warms the soul. I mean, I get downright giddy. Bonus points if the soup is healthy and homemade like this Tuscan kale and potato soup. I know you’ll love it so I’m taking a break from my massive fall cleaning and de-cluttering efforts (not fun) to bring you this super tasty Tuscan kale and potato soup (way more fun!). So let’s get started with some browned Italian sausage, and add to it lots of tasty veg like kale, garlic, onions and some sliced potatoes and make up some magic in a bowl.
You’ll notice the recipe calls for something called coconut milk kefir. This is a super healthy probiotic beverage that’s a little like yogurt. I use it in place of heavy creams and sour cream quite often so I can avoid dairy. You can find the recipe here and it’s way easy. No worries, you can totally use straight up coconut milk or regular dairy cream. Now, I know you’ll all notice I mentioned avoiding dairy but you’ll see the photo below has grated cheese. It’s a bit of finely shredded manchego cheese, which, while it is still dairy, it’s made from sheep’s milk so those of you with any dairy sensitivities will most likely be able to handle manchego. Since it’s an aged cheese, it has nearly no lactose in it and because it’s from sheep’s milk, it has only the A2 casein protein. In my experience, those sensitive to casein, are usually sensitive to the A1 type which is what you usually find in dairy cows here in the U.S. (and causes many issues for many people) unless you source directly from a farmer. I also like to add a little bit of gelatin for some added thickness as well as great health benefits. Gelatin is a superfood for your joints, skin and is a great source of dietary collagen. Now how ’bout some soup!
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
- 4 cups sliced potatoes (I used fingerlings for cute little circles)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cups kale, chopped
- ½ cup coconut milk kefir (or coconut milk, or dairy cream)
- 1 tablespoon gelatin (optional)
- salt to taste
- manchego (or parmesan) cheese, grated for topping (optional)
- In a frying pan, brown the sausage with the onion and garlic.
- While sausage is browning, place broth, potatoes, oregano and pepper flakes in saucepan and heat to boiling.
- Once sausage is browned, add it to the saucepan and boil until potatoes are tender.
- Add kale, coconut kefir (or cream) and gelatin (if using).
- Spoon into bowls and top with cheese if desired.
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