INGREDIENTS:
½ pound of ground Italian sausage
1 can of coconut cream (13 oz)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 yellow onion
1 shallot
2 whole carrots (sliced into ¼ inch circles-dime like size)
1 ½ cups of small red potatoes (cut into quarters)
1 yellow or green squash (cut into ½ in slices then halved-should look like half-moons)
1tbs minced garlic
1tbs fresh/dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon of pepper (to taste)
2 tbs of olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
• Cut the carrots into slices (about a ¼ inch thick)
• Toss carrots in 1 tbs of olive oil, pinch of salt/pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder. Spread onto the lined baking sheet (only use half of the baking sheet-you will need the other half for the onions/shallot)
• Cut the onion into quarters. Cut the shallot in half.
• Toss onions/shallot in 1 tbs of olive oil, pinch of salt/pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder. Spread onto the other half of the lined baking sheet
• ROAST these veggies in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes or until there is a little bit of char on the ends of the onions. Once the veggies are roasted, set them aside. You will use the carrots at a different stage of the recipe than the onions/shallot.
• Cut the potatoes into quarter pieces. Cut the squash into ½ inch slices, then slice in half. Should look like half-moons. Set aside in a bowl.
• In a large pot, brown the Italian sausage until cooked. Once cooked down, place the sausage on a paper towel lined plate so the sausage can “drain”.
• In the same pot (no need to clean it) brown the minced garlic over the lowest heat setting. This will happen FAST!
• Once the garlic is slightly brown, add the 2 cups of chicken broth and the entire can of coconut cream. Be careful with the coconut cream exiting the can! Do this step very carefully as there is pulp in the can. Stir until well blended. Shouldn’t be any lumps of coconut cream.
• Add the roasted onions/shallot to the pot. With a hand blender/hand mixer, blend the roasted veggies with the broth until smooth. (If you don’t have a hand blender, you can blend the roasted onions/shallot in a blender then add it to the broth.) This will thicken your broth and add a lot of flavor.
• Add the cooked sausage, roasted carrots, squash, potatoes, spinach, thyme, red pepper. Stir.
• Cook on low for at least 2 ½ hours or until the potatoes looked cooked through. The longer the better. The soup holds pretty well for at least 3 days.