Winter has descended. Yesterday it felt like -10 degrees outside. The radio was spewing all manner of weather swear words “wind chill”, “frost”, “flurries”. I walked out in my down filled coat, a hat, mittens and a scarf. It was a difficult day for me. It’s not that I don’t like the cold…it’s that I hate it.
But a deep disdain for something can certainly breed brilliance.
In this case, the inevitable cold weather has led to the making of this delicious, soul satisfying soup. Soup is the perfect antidote to bone chilling cold. And when you’re staring down the prospect of months of avoiding the outdoors because your nose might freeze and fall off then there better be a damn good soup being served indoors.
This soup saved us from the infamous ice storm of 2013. I remember eating it in the dark while wrapped up in our winter jackets. I heated it up on our gas stove which was the only thing working since we had no electricity. This soup also helped us usher in 2015; I served it as part of a light New Year’s Day, “everybody keep your resolutions”, lunch. Inspired by the sausage and kale soup served at the Olive Garden I’ve replaced the potatoes with celery root in order to reduce some of the carbs and increase the flavour.
I’ve also replaced the dairy with almond milk to make it dairy free. It tastes best with homemade almond milk but a good quality store bought brand will do. If you can do dairy, then replace the almond milk with whole milk and a splash of cream. There is a lot of kale in here too so you’re getting in a ton of vitamins and minerals. This is a great soup to whip up after the indulgence of Thanksgiving. Tasty but nourishing so nothing to feel guilty about.
Lastly, the sausage. Oh the sausage. I have previously demonstrated my love of sausage here and here. In this soup, it adds heft and makes it filling enough to be served as a meal with some side salad.
Go on and make this winter antidote in big batches. I promise you’ll make it through the frosty mayhem.
| Sausage and Kale Soup | Print |
- 1 cup onions, chopped (approx 1 onion)
- 1.5 lbs Italian sausage
- 1 bunches of kale, washed, stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 1 lb celery root, peeled, washed, cut in half and then into thin slices
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp of red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
- 4.5 cups of chicken stock
- 2 cups of almond milk
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- Place a large soup pot on medium-high heat. Crumble and brown the sausage in batches until golden brown. This should take approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Leave a bit of fat in the pan and add the onions. Saute until translucent, scraping up the fatty bits of browned sausage on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the oregano and red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the sausage back in the pan and stir.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce down to a simmer.
- Now drain off the celery root and add it to the pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
- Once the celery root is softened, add in the almond milk and the torn kale pieces and stir. Taste and season as needed.
- Simmer on medium heat for another 20 minutes or until the kale is cooked but still a bright green.
- Serve topped with some parsley.
This is such a delicious and comforting soup, perfect remedy for the cold! Love the soup photo as well, such a beautiful color combination! Pinned. 🙂
Thank you Nicole! Hope you enjoy it and let us know how it goes when you make it 🙂
quick question — in step 6, when you say “drain off the celery root”, can you clarify what you mean by that? I was under the impression that it was simply sliced, which shouldn’t require any draining unless I’m missing a step…..
Hi Leslie,
Good question! You’re just draining the celery from the water that it’s in. As I mention at the beginning of the recipe, so that the celery root doesn’t brown, you should slice it and place the slices in water. Hope this helps! ~Marilene