Fall Favourites: Soups

While everyone else is getting excited about fall clothes and pumpkin spice lattes, I tend to get giddy about spending my Sunday afternoons in the kitchen. Sure, most of my culinary adventures tend to satisfy my sweet tooth (apple pie anyone?), but I do love experimenting with soup. It’s one of those few meals that you can’t really mess up.  It’s simple, it’s hearty and there’s tons of left over for the busy work week!

Here’s the recipe for one of my go-to soups for Fall, Kale, Carrot, Bean, Potato and Sausage Soup:

Ingredients

• 3 links of hot Italian sausage ( you can use regular sausage if you don’t like it spicy)
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, cut into small dice
• 1 medium carrot, cut into small dice
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into small dice
• 5 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 3 cups of water
• I can of white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch of kale, rinsed, stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Instructions

• Remove the sausage from its casing and tear it by hand into bite-size pieces.
• Heat 2 tbs. of the olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add the onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
• Add the carrot and potatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Stir in the garlic powder, pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and stir.
• Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil over high heat.
• When the broth reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and add half the beans.
• In a blender, blend 2 cups of broth (it’s ok to include the carrots and potatoes) with the remainder of the beans.
• Add the blend back into the pot. This helps to thicken the soup.
• Stir in the kale, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, and simmer until the kale is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

How easy was that? Enjoy!

Ps. I’d love to hear some of your favourite fall soup recipes.

Photo Source: All images taken by Madhu