Hearty Chicken Sausage, Garbanzo Bean, Artichoke & Kale Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was craving a thick hearty soup, something with sausage and potato and something with lots of flavor but still healthy and low fat. A package of organic, minimally processed, nitrate-free chicken sausages with garlic and red pepper, along with a trip through the pantry resulted in this rich and satisfying bowl of goodness.

Garbanzos pureed into the broth give it a thick creamy taste without any cream and shredded kale gets some healthy greens in there. It tasted good until a can of artichoke hearts and some lemon juice brightened up the flavor and took it from good to great!

Hearty Chicken Sausage, Garbanzo Bean, Artichoke & Kale Soup

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes about 12 cups)

8 cups chicken stock (separated)

1 package (about 12 oz) minimally processed chicken sausage, (I used a red pepper garlic from Whole Foods), sliced

1 yellow onion, small chop
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 yellow or Yukon gold potatoes, small chop
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp red chili pepper flakes

2 cans (or about 4 cups) cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained and separated

1 bunch organic kale with stems and large ribs removed chopped into thin strips

1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat 1/2 cup of the chicken stock in a large pot over medium heat and add sliced sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is just browned, and liquid mostly evaporates (about 10 minutes). Add onions, garlic, potatoes, fennel seeds, thyme, oregano, parsley and chili pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until softened, (about 10 minutes), adding more stock to the pot if mixture begins to stick or brown.

Place 2 cups of stock and one can of beans into a blender and blend until smooth. Add remaining broth to pot and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and onions are cooked through, (about 10-15 minutes).

Add the remaining can of garbanzo beans, the stock/bean puree, chopped kale and the artichoke hearts to pot and simmer until kale is softened and everything is cooked through, (about 5-7 minutes). Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper and additional red pepper flakes. Serve and enjoy.

Notes/Results: Excellent! This is exactly what I wanted--great flavor, a nice little kick from the red pepper flakes and the taste and texture make it seem decadent and sinful when it isn't. By sauteing the sausage and veggies in the broth, no oil is used and the fat stays at a minimum. A bit of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top would be a great way to garnish this soup. A keeper recipe for sure.

Let's take a look at who is here in the Souper Sunday kitchen this week and see what goodies they brought:

So nice to have my friend Kat from Our Adventures in Japan here this week. Kat says, "You ever had one of those days when you want to eat two different things and can't make up your mind which one you should choose? That was my dilemma on Thursday night. I wanted something soupy, but I also wanted chili. My solution, I combined the two...Chili Soup (a total throw together recipe)...this hit the spot! lots of veggies and kick from the chili seasoning."

Natasha of 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures made this lovely and unique soup to share. She says, "This Walnut and Oregano Velouté is light and creamy, full of delicious nutty flavor with a touch of aromatic sweetness of oregano. It is great as a soup and also can be used as a sauce for pasta or ravioli. This version is vegetarian, and a vegan version can easily be created with butter and cream substitutes."

Megan from My Baking Adventures cooked her first lentils for this Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage and says "And I cooked them perfectly. Score! I recently learned that David really likes lentils, and you know what? I didn’t know I liked them so much either. This soup is very hearty and warming and full of flavor. Just the ticket for a cold and rainy day – and we had plenty of those last week."

Tired of pleasing picky eaters, Kim from Stirring the Pot made an entire recipe of Ina Garten's Orzo with Roasted Vegetables salad for herself. Kim says, "I ended up with a huge bowl of pasta, which is absolutely fine with me. I will be enjoying this for lunch throughout the week and will actually feel good about eating it. Loaded with vegetables, this is a great way to "eat the rainbow". This recipe is also great because it is great served hot, room temperature and cold. This would make a great potluck dish to take along to a party or picnic."

Graziana from Erbe in Cucina didn't have enough turnip tops or broccoli rabe after an aphid problem to make the traditional pasta dish her partner loves, but she did have enough to make another wonderful dish, this Turnip Tops (Broccoli Rabe) Bruschetta. She says, "I had sowed also a test plant in a pot, and it survived.It was too small to prepare the pasta, but I cooked the seasoning anyway, and served it on a bruschetta (with a millet and marjoram bread that I will post soon) They were so tasty that I cursed the aphids for hours!"

A new panini pan for Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies helped make these gorgeous Mediterranean Panini. She says, "Our old panini maker had flat plates. Yup, no groovy lines in my sammies. Sigh. But I soldiered on, living life bravely without the cool ridges in my panini, holding my head up even though, without the tell-tale marks, one might not even notice at first glance that they were, in fact, panini and not merely toasted sammies. But you see, the old press did pass away. And after a respectful grieving time we set about getting a new one.. one with ridges. For our anniversary actually. We are very romantic that way. See how pretty those ridges make a sammie? No comparison really."

Some wonderful soups, a delicious pasta salad and a couple of sandwich treats, mahalo to everyone who joined in this week. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich that you would like to share, click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a great week!