Sausage Cream Soup with Potatoes

creamysausagepotatosoup This creamy sausage soup recipe is simple, comforting and loaded with flavourful Italian sausage and potatoes. It's a ridiculously cozy soup that's ready in under an hour.

1 lb (16 oz) Italian sausage, mild or hot, casings removed (454 g)
¼ cup butter (½ stick)
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 ribs celery, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half cream, room temperature
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced small (1 lb)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Add the sausage meat to a soup pot. Over medium-high heat, cook until browned (~ 10 minutes) and break it up with your spoon as it cooks. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the fat in the pot, but if it's more than about a Tbsp., drain some of it out.

Add the butter to the pot and once it's melted, add the onion and celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Stir in the garlic and flour. Cook for about 2 minutes, breaking it up with your spoon/stirring it as you go along. This step cooks the raw flour flavour out.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until all the flour has dissolved and there's no lumps.

Stir in the half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, potatoes and add the sausage meat back to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat so it's bubbling but not boiling like crazy (medium-low heat works with my cast iron pot and gas stove). Cover the pot with the lid slightly open.

Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened up to your liking. I like to stir it a few times to ensure nothing is sticking and that the stove's temperature is still correct.

Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Makes 4-6 servings.