When the weather turns cold, I crave soup! I wish I could share a bowl of soup with each of you today, but since I can’t . . . I’ll share one of my favorite, go-to soup recipes instead.

This one is easy, adaptable, and really, really good. It makes lots of leftovers, too. The recipe is written for crock pot cooking, and that’s how I always prepare it, but I’m sure it would work well simmering on the stove or in an InstaPot instead.

Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup
from Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever by Diane Phillips

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound smoked liguiça, chorizo, or adouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch rounds*
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 pound kale, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 5 medium red potatoes (peeled or unpeeled), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 bay leaves

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the sausage, onions, and carrots, and sauté until the onions are transluscent. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the kale, potatoes, broth, and bay leaves to the cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the potatoes are tender.Remove the bay leaves before serving.

*My notes on sausage: You can substitute any type of sausage you prefer. Although I love chorizo and usually use that, I’ve also made this with mild Italian sausage, turkey sausage, and with no sausage at all. I imagine it would also be delicious with chicken. Although the recipe calls for sausage that can be cut into “rounds,” I often use bulk sausage and just brown it up in the skillet before adding in the onions and carrots.

Mmmmm!
So good on a cold, wintry day.

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”
— Laurie Colwin

If you’re wondering what this “advent calendar” is all about, you can read my “intro” post here.