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Smokey Farmhouse Soup

Cold weather calls for soups, and this simple, hearty, smokey soup does just the trick: root vegetables get simmered and pureed with an intoxicating blend of savory spices and then beefed up with chunks of smoked sausage and curly green kale. The perfect meal after a long day full of winter chores, hopefully next to a fireplace.

 2 tbsp butter
 1 onion, diced
 4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
 1 large carrot, peeled and minced
 1.5 - 2 tsp smoked paprika
 1 tsp dried thyme
 1 tsp dried rosemary
 1 tsp salt
 1 medium to large rutabaga or 2 turnips
 1 sweet potato
 2 small to medium potatoes
 5-6 cups stock, water or a combination
 black pepper (to taste)
 1 lb smoked sausage (like kielbasa or andouille), sliced into thick coins
 a few handfuls washed and torn greens (kale, chard, collards, etc.)
1

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large soup pot. Cook onions in the butter for 8-10 minutes, until slippery and slightly transparent. Add whole garlic cloves, minced carrot and spices, stir and cook for 2 more minutes being careful not to burn (especially in the center of your pot directly over heat source.)

2

While the onions are cooking, peel and chop the rest of your veggies-- the rutabaga or turnips, the sweet potato, and the potatoes--to roughly 1/2" pieces.

3

Add vegetables to the pot with the onions, and toss to coat in the spices. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

4

Add stock/water and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft (about 10-15 more minutes.) Remove from heat

5

Purée using an immersion blender or in a standing blender in batches. Add more stock or water if necessary to thin. Add back to pot and set oven medium heat once more.

6

Stir in slices of sausage and kale and simmer 5-10 minutes or until sausage is totally warm throughout (smoked sausage is already full cooked, it just needs reheating.) Serve warm with some freshly cracked black pepper on top.