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Grünkohlsuppe from an American Kitchen- Denglish Kale Soup

Grünkohlsuppe will warm you up on a cold day. It's also a great meal to stretch a few ingredients a long way. 
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cuisine German
Servings 6 -8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Yellow Onion medium to large
  • 3-4 slices 100gr Bacon
  • 2 Tbl cooking Oil Olive or Vegetable is fine
  • 2 bunches 500 gr, 8 cups chopped Kale (add more if you like)
  • 1 ring approx 400 gr of smoked Kielbasa (more or less)
  • 6 cups around 1.5 L Beef Broth (add less or more depending on how far you want to stretch it)
  • 2 lg 600 gr Russet Potatoes (about 4 cup peeled and cut up)
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • have salt and pepper on hand... just in case

Instructions
 

  • Use a large soup pot with a lid.
  • Peel and dice the onion.
  • Chop the bacon into a rough dice
  • Put 2 Tbl oil into the soup pot, heat over medium heat. Add the onion and bacon.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
  • You want the onion soft, and the bacon to render a bit... but you don't need it to brown.
  • Prepare the Kale by discarding the tough stems, and rough chopping the rest.
  • Add the broth and Kale to the pot, stir a bit.
  • Bring broth to a boil
  • Place the sausage on top to the Kale
  • Reduce heat to low, place the sausage on top of the Kale, cover and let it cook for 30 minutes.
  • While it's cooking, peel and cut up the potatoes. You want pieces around 1 inch... but it doesn't have to look perfect.
  • After the Kale has cooked 30 minutes, remove the sausage to a plate
  • Add the potatoes to the Kale, stir, and cook for another 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, add the nutmeg and stir
  • Slice the sausage
  • Add the sliced sausage to the soup.
  • Stir
  • Now TASTE it. The sausage, bacon, and broth should have made it salty enough. Add salt and pepper if NEEDED.
  • Serve with bread for a complete meal.

Notes

I make beef broth using "Better than Bullion", and it makes a fairly rich broth, so I don't need to add more salt. If you use a canned stock/broth, or your own, adjust the seasoning as needed. 
Also, you can make this soup vegetarian by using a vegetable broth, and leaving out the meat.