Thanks to everyone who entered the Williams-Sonoma cookbook giveaway! You all gave me great ideas of what vegetables you want to learn to use. Kale was high on the list, so here’s a recipe that will be sure to get your introduced to this lovely leafy green.

Leafy greens are intimidating. We’ve all had bad creamed spinach or canned mustard greens. They’re just… disappointment. So why are we afraid of leafy greens like spinach, swiss chard or kale?

For me, it’s a lack of knowledge. How do I store it? What do I do with it? How do I know what to look? And the only thing that’s going to help me answer those questions it to get out there and try, try and try. Henceforth, there will be many more recipes coming up featuring new ways to make leafy greens the star (or at least not the most hated) of the show.

This sausage, kale and potato soup is peppery and hearty. The fat from the sausage lends great flavor to the soup, while the potato makes it creamy and the kale provides a beautiful color and additional texture and flavor. I prefer using gold potatoes because they’re naturally more creamy in flavor than a russet or red potato. Or, you could be WICKED and go with purple potatoes. Hmm….sparking new ideas now…

Want to kick it up a notch? Use hot italian sausage instead of mild. And yes, you can use any ground sausage you want. The flavor is just a little different, so try out what you think you’ll like! Or, add some hot pepper flakes as the soup finished cooking.

Sausage, kale and potato soup

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb italian OR breakfast sausage
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Half a yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 box + 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 lbs gold potatoes, peeled and diced into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp Penzey’s Murals seasoning, or a blend of your favorite dried herbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 6-8 small to medium sized kale leaves

In a large dutch oven or stock pot, add olive oil and heat on medium high. Add the sausage and brown. Remove the sausage to a small bowl and set aside.

Add diced onion to the fat and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are soft and tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, Murals seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Wash the kale leaves (dirt hides in those curly ends), then tear up the leaves directly into the soup. Don’t use the hard white stems for this soup. Add the cooked sausage and let sit on medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until everything is nice and hot and the kale has softened up.

Enjoy this soup with a nice crusty bread, but the soup is hearty enough that you don’t really need anything unless you want the bred to sop up the broth in the bottom of the bowl. Put away the leftovers for tomorrow, it’s great warmed up on the stove or even the microwave. When the potato cooks it makes the soup a bit creamy, so there’s no need for added milk or cream. It’s not that kind of soup.