Description
Hearty Italian sausage soup delivers robust flavors from Tuscany’s countryside. Simmering peppers, herbs, and rich broth create a satisfying meal you’ll savor with each comforting spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb/453 g hot Italian sausage
- 2 lbs/907 g red potatoes, washed and sliced thin
- 8 cups/1.9 L chicken broth
- 4 cups/60 g baby kale, arugula, or spinach
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- 2 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 cup/240 ml heavy cream
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Sausage Searing: Position a large pot over medium-high heat and crumble Italian sausage, allowing it to caramelize and develop rich, golden edges. Drain excess fat if needed for a cleaner flavor profile.
- Aromatic Foundation: Introduce finely diced onions and minced garlic into the seared sausage. Sprinkle red pepper flakes, kosher salt, black pepper, and white pepper to amplify the soup’s depth and complexity. Sauté until vegetables become translucent and fragrant.
- Liquid Integration: Pour chicken broth and chicken base into the pot, creating a robust foundation. Add thinly sliced potatoes, ensuring they are completely submerged. If liquid seems insufficient, supplement with additional broth or water mixed with chicken base.
- Simmering Process: Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium. Allow the soup to simmer gently for 35-40 minutes, concentrating flavors and tenderizing potatoes until they reach a perfect, yielding consistency.
- Creamy Refinement: Gently fold heavy cream into the soup, reducing heat to low. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to balance the flavor profile. Let the soup rest for 5 minutes, allowing ingredients to meld harmoniously.
- Serving Presentation: Layer fresh greens – baby kale, arugula, or spinach – in serving bowls. Ladle the steaming soup over the greens, creating a delicate wilting effect that adds visual appeal and fresh, herbaceous notes to the dish.
Notes
- Meat Browning Technique: Properly caramelize sausage to develop rich, deep flavor by breaking it into small pieces during cooking and draining excess fat for optimal texture.
- Spice Balance: Carefully layer red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and both black and white pepper to create a complex, multilayered aromatic profile that enhances the soup’s overall taste.
- Liquid Adjustment: Monitor broth levels during cooking, adding extra liquid if needed to ensure potatoes are fully submerged and the soup maintains ideal consistency.
- Greens Wilting Trick: Add fresh greens directly to serving bowls and pour hot soup over them to create a delicate wilting effect that preserves nutrients and adds visual appeal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 425
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 1060 mg
- Fat: 33 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg