Tuscan Potato & Sausage Soup
A wonderful blend of Italian Sausage, tender potatoes and great Tuscan flavors. So satisfying yet easy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- 1 cup yellow onion, minced
- 2 1/2 lbs red potatoes, diced
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary, crumbled
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves, crumbled
- 6 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- 2/3 cup half & half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 scallions, sliced, or 2 Tbsp chives optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, cook sausage and onions over medium-high heat until onions soften and sausage starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in potatoes, black pepper, rosemary and thyme. Cook, stirring, for 3 more minutes.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer, covered, until potatoes are barely tender, about 15 minutes.
- Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Slowly pour cornstarch and water mix into the soup, stirring continuously, and cook until soup is slightly thickened.
- In the final minutes of cooking, stir in half and half and Parmesan. Do NOT allow mixture to boil at this point as the dairy will "break" and lose its creaminess.
- Remove from heat and allow soup to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top each serving with scallions or chives, if using.
Notes
Note: You can make this dairy-free if you choose. Substitute your favorite non-dairy nut-, oat- or rice-based creamer for the 1/2 and 1/2. You can eliminate the Parmesan if you like or, if cow-based dairy is your challenge, try using a non-cow based cheese like Pecorino Romano for the Parmesan.