Rustic Potato Soup

Rustic potato soup - borrowed image.

One of my favorite dishes from an unnamed Italian restaurant is this very soup. It's hearty, simple, and most of all, delicious. I've seen other versions of this recipe, but I assure you - once you make this, you will never pay the restaurant for their version again.

You'll need:

1 lb.ground hot Italian sausage - if unavailable, 5 links (skinned) will do
1/2 lb. cooked bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 minced cloves of garlic
1 tsp. or so sea salt
6-8 medium potatoes, skin on, thinly sliced (I use a mandolin.)

6 cups (about 4 liters) chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
small bunch of kale, finely chopped

Also: olive oil

Heat some oil in a deep pot. Add sausage, Brown sausage, chopping it into small chunks as it cooks. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside; leave drippings in pot. Add onion and garlic, saute at low - medium heat until slightly translucent, then add the wine and stir to finish deglazing pot.

Pour chicken stock into pot and add potatoes. Add the salt and cook until potatoes are nearly cooked though. Toss in bacon, wait ten minutes. Add sausage back and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Taste and season as you go, this soup works well that way. Drop heat to low, add cream and kale. Stir it in thoroughly and serve.

Serves 6 to 8 well.

Sauteed Baby Kale and Mushrooms with Garlic and Cashews.

Amazing flavor in minutes.

This side dish was an idea given to me by an old high school friend - I don't know how she made it, but when I put it together, the flavor was unbelievable! Those toastiness of the cashews and sweetness of the lightly sauteed baby kale combine with the garlic... heaven. And I'm not a fan of vegetarian style foods. I could eat this alone.

You'll need:

large bunch of baby kale, preferably with stems removed

1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews
1/4 cup enoki, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms 

2 cloves garlic, crushed

teaspoon olive oil

dash of salt

dash of pepper

In a non-stick pan, heat olive oil over low-medium heat. Add cashews and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Remove cashews and sautee  mushrooms until slightly tender. Add garlic, salt, and pepper and sautee until fragrant. Add cashews back into pan. Stir in kale and sautee until it begins to wilt.

Remove from heat, put on paper towel, pat a second or two to remove excess oil, then place in serving dish. Enjoy!

Time: approx. 15 minutes, including prep