Spicy Potato Soup

 

I think New Years is easily my favorite time of year.  It really has nothing to do with the holiday, however, and everything to do with the fact that for the last 5 years I have spent NYE with my best friend from college.  It’s fantastic, especially now that we’re all “real adults” now and whatnot.  For the last 2 years, we’ve spent the new year at his place in Chicago, and delicious food always results.  Adam likes to cook, but he claims he doesn’t have the time to do it very often.  Also, I figure living by himself probably contributes to the lack of a desire to cook as well, I know I get lazy when I’m only cooking for myself too.  When we’re together though, we always cook at least half of the time.  Sadly, our NYE ham turned out a little questionable…I’ll take the blame for that one though after a terrible brain fart moment of bad conversion between minutes and hours…yeah, that ham may not have been fully cooked…whatever, it still tasted good.  Plus, the green bean casserole (only the best holiday dish ever, fyi) and sweet potatoes con marshmallows were delicious, so whatever.

Our other meal, I am happy to say, was much more successful.  I actually made this soup for Adam for the first time last year during my new years visit, he liked it so much that he requested it again this year.  Even our friend Derek, who doesn’t like spinach, thought it was delicious!  I’ve made this recipe with both the andouille and with the chorizo, frankly it’s just a matter of what I can find at the store.  Both turn out delicious.  If you have the option though, go with the andouille sausage, it’s far less greasy.  If you’re not a fan of heat, you can always make this soup with polish sausage or a mild Italian sausage instead.

Ingredients (serves 8):

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil (omit if using chorizo)

1/2 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb andouille sausage, sliced into rounds OR 1 lb chorizo, casings removed

6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions if using andouille (or other sliced sausage):

1. Heat the butter and oil together in a large stock pot over medium heat and cook onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add sausage slices, cook and stir another 5 minutes.  Stir in potatoes; cook and stir 15 minutes.  Add chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in spinach and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until spinach has heated through.  Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Directions if using chorizo (or other crumbled sausage):

1. Heat butter in a large stock pot over medium heat and cook onions and garlic until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add chorizo and cook until meat has browned thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes.  Drain excess grease.  Stir in potatoes; cook and stir 15 minutes.  Add chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, and Italian seasoning.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in spinach and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until spinach has heated through.  Top with Parmesan cheese to serve.