This potato soup is rustic but also looks fancy, making it an excellent choice for company or just a weeknight meal. I used ground chicken to make it more flavourful.
8cupschicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon)
1poundbacon - thick-sliced
1poundground chicken (minced chicken)
1pinchred pepper flakes
½tablespoonthyme - dried
½tablespoonoregano - dried
1tablespoonchicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon) - granules
½pintheavy cream (also called thickened cream)
Instructions
Heat the dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Chop the bacon and add to a hot skillet.
While bacon is cooking, slice unpeeled potatoes with mandoline (or slice thin with a knife) into a bowl of cold water. Make sure they are submerged in water and set aside.
Using mandoline (or slicing thin with a knife), slice onion and leeks. Only slice the white and light green part of the leeks. Save the dark green ends to use when you are cooking broth or stock.
When the bacon has crisped, remove it to a bowl. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat.
Add chicken to a pot and sprinkle evenly with red pepper flakes.
While the chicken is cooking, remove leaves from the kale stems. Tear leaves into bite-size pieces as you go. Discard kale stems ( they are bitter.)
When sausage is done cooking, remove to bowl with bacon. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the soup is done.
Add chicken stock, potatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, chicken bouillon granules, and spices to the dutch oven. On med-high heat, bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer covered for 20 to 30 minutes. Potatoes should be easy to cut with a spoon.
When potatoes are cooked, I like to run a heavy spoon back and forth through the pot, roughly cutting onions and potatoes on the side of the pot.
Add bacon to the pot to warm the trough.
Remove from heat.
Add kale to the pot. They will turn bright, beautiful green. Stir everything together.