This is one of my favorite things in the whole world! I discovered this soup at Olive Garden many years ago and it was love at first slurp! So I went on a mission to figure out how to make this deliciousness myself. Turns out it’s ridiculously easy!
This time I made my broth by browning the sausage in a large heavy bottomed soup pot. Once the sausage was mostly done…just a little pinkish…I removed it from the pot and set aside. You can use whatever sausage you like. Some recipes call for bacon and I’ve added it in the past. It’s really Yummy!!! Just look for a good quality pastured pork bacon and you can cook it in the pot right along with the sausage. Traditionally a spicy sausage is used or you can add red pepper flakes to spice it up. Our kiddos don’t share the same love of heat as I do so we went with a nice mild Italian sausage this time.
I added my onions to the same pot with the remnants and fat from the sausage and cooked until translucent. Once the onions softened I filled the pot with approximately 10 cups of water and threw in the remains of our whole roasted chicken from the night before with a TBS of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar softens the bones and helps to leach those valuable minerals into the broth.
To help flavor the broth I added garlic and parsley and seasoned generously with salt and pepper. I let that simmer on med low heat for a couple hours. This would be great to do on a weekend or when you have more time to let the bones simmer. The longer the better! If you have some pre made bone broth on hand that would be perfect.
I’ll post a recipe on how to make bone broth asap. That’s a priority! There are so many tummy loving benefits to a good quality bone broth that this can’t officially be a viable blog about tummy health without it.
So once your broth has simmered for a good while you can prepare your potatoes by washing and giving them a really good scrub. I like to leave the skins on for this rustic style recipe and slice them into generously bite sized pieces. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the soup and also give you a visual sense of creaminess even if you don’t chose to use cream. Organic is really important with potatoes because they act like sponges and suck up whatever is in the dirt with them. Unwanted toxic chemicals included!
I like to hold off on adding my kale until a few minutes before serving. A quick dip in the pot brings out this beautiful, vibrant, bright green color and keeps it somewhat firm. If you cook it too long that color dampens and the kale itself gets kind of mushy and stringy. If you tolerate dairy and want to use the cream, now would be the time to add it to the soup.
Ladle into a bowl, garnish with the reserved parsley and enjoy. You could embrace the Olive Garden Tradition with a big fresh family style salad too!
Ingredients
- 10-12 cups organic chicken broth or homemade bone broth
- 4 medium organic russet potatoes or yukon gold scrubbed and cubed into bite sized pieces
- Bunch of kale de-stemmed & chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 lb good quality pastured pork sausage/ could be spicy or mild
- Parsley chopped / reserve a little for garnish
- Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
- ¼ cup heavy cream / optional (from raw milk if available)
Instructions
- Brown sausage in a large heavy bottomed soup pot. Once the sausage is cooked remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add onions to the same pot with the remnants and fat from the sausage and cook until translucent.
- Add broth or water and chicken bones with a TBS of apple cider vinegar to create broth. Simmer over med low heat.
- Add garlic and parsley and season generously with salt and pepper. Reserve some parsley for garnish
- Add cleaned and cubed potatoes to the pot and let simmer until soft
- Add kale and cream (if using) a few minutes before serving
Post By: Hollie Donelson, NTP
Happy Tummies of The Lowcountry, LLC
Bluffton/Hilton Head, SC
843-227-1042
Please note. I am not a Doctor. The content on this site is not intended as medical advice. Always check with your doctor before starting any type of health or nutritional protocol especially if you are being treated for or have been diagnosed with a medical condition.