Sunday Soup #30: Slow Cooker (or Instant Pot) Sausage, Kale, and Sweet Potato Soup

It occurs to me that the last soup I posted on the blog before this one was a Guest Sunday Soup, made by my friend Lisa, and is titled "Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup." I have to admit that I was not thinking about that when I chose to make this soup this past Sunday... But, they are two completely distinct recipes, so I hope you'll forgive the consecutive same-ness. If, however, you are completely disturbed and just can't get past it, then you have my permission to skip this soup and wait for next week's post. ;-)

Still with me? Okay... Here goes...

This recipe came from: http://www.wholesomelicious.com/slow-cooker-instant-pot-sausage-kale-sweet-potato-soup/

*Pic 1 - Picture from http://www.wholesomelicious.com/slow-cooker-instant-pot-sausage-kale-sweet-potato-soup/

My Variations from Recipe as Written: I chose to make the Instant Pot version of this soup (although that isn't really a "change," since the recipe encourages it). And, I used pork sausage (hot Italian), and a cabernet sauvignon for the white wine (if that makes a difference to you). Finally, I seeded and chopped two jalapeño peppers to add to my recipe because I am a chile-head.

General Thoughts: True to its word, this recipe was quite easy to make, and it cooked quickly. There wasn't much to it other than sautéing the sausage and chopping the veggies, all of which went fairly quickly.  And, I spent more time waiting for the Instant Pot to reach pressure than I did actually cooking the soup (only 8 minutes!).

Right from the start, even before it started cooking, everything smelled really good together... Aromatic basil, together with the hot sausage, apple cider vinegar, and the onion/garlic mixture smelled heavenly, and I hoped it would taste as good as it smelled when it was finished.

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

I was surprised that the kale fit so well in this one (I chopped up the bagged baby kale you can get from your supermarket's produce aisle).  With kale, I always worry that it is going to feel (and taste) like I went into the backyard and grabbed a giant handful out of the first pile of old leaves I could find.  But, it was actually a terrific compliment in this soup and gave it an earthy taste that offset the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.

An added bonus with this one is that it is relatively healthy.  If you are eating paleo or Whole30 (with a small alteration), this soup is right up your alley and provided a surprising flavor punch for a healthy choice.

The soup was hearty and filling and did a good job of looking "full," despite its broth-y nature. But, what most surprised me about it was the variety of textures in the finished soup.  The sweet potatoes wound up being very soft (as sweet potatoes are want to do), followed closely by the kale.  But then the sausage was a bit spongy (again, not usual for sausage), and the mushrooms were a little rubbery, even though well cooked.  The result was a slightly odd cacophony of textures on the tongue. I personally didn't mind it, but it was the death nell for my wife having anything further to do with this soup after only a couple of bites.

Polling the Fam: I liked the soup overall and enjoyed that it was both tasty and healthy.  However, I do have to say that I could get sick of this soup fairly quickly if I had a ton of leftovers, so I am glad I did not double this recipe.  Becky gave it the old college try (since she does not like mushrooms and is just "meh" about kale), but she was immediately weirded out by the texture.  She said it skeeved her out, and she didn't think she could eat it again... but she did admit that it actually tasted good.  Hunter liked the soup as well and was pleased that he'd finally found something in which he actually like sweet potato (i.e., he is normally not a fan).  He added that if the mushrooms were not in the recipe, he would not have liked it nearly as much.

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)