Turkey Sausage and Collard Green Soup

I love collard greens. I've mentioned before, in this post, that I once had a peak experience with them that I often dream about. However, I've never actually cooked with them at home. But I recently saw them at Whole Foods and thought, here's your chance. I already knew I wanted to make a hearty, yet clear broth, soup for dinner one night and I personally love dark leafy greens in my soups. So right away I knew I'd use the collards, my favorite Italian turkey sausage, and I remembered that I had leftover shaved asparagus from a recent salad. PS the bouillon is quite flavorful so no salt is needed, but the pepper was essential. I used black pepper but if you have white pepper on hand that could be delish too.

What I Used:

  • 2 Italian turkey sausages
  • 1 bunch of collard greens, ribs removed then cut into ribbons
  • 10 pieces of asparagus, sliced
  • 2 large tbsp of Better Than Boullion (Chicken)
  • Pepper

How To:

  1. Place the Italian sausages in a pyrex baking dish with a drizzle of oil, then pop in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (they should be mostly cooked but if they're still not fully cooked, they'll be brought to a boil in the soup shortly)
  2. Fill a pot with water (24-32oz) & the 2 tbsp of bullion, whisk until dissolved and bring to a boil.
  3. While boiling, cut the roasted turkey sausage into bite-sized pieces, I cut them into nickel shaped pieces and then in half to be like little half moons
  4. Once it comes to a boil, add in a liberal sprinkling of freshly ground pepper (this really made the flavor) then toss in the collards and stir them around a bit until wilted. Next, add in the asparagus,  allow them to turn bright. Lastly, add in the turkey sausage and let it all simmer for about 10 minutes until serving.
  5. I served it up over Trader Joe's Frozen Brown Rice in a big bowl for dinner that night and then again for lunch a few days later and it was still delish. I stored it in the fridge in a sealed dish (though I would keep the rice separate).