The beginning of Palmquist Farm’s hearty Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Potato Soup can be traced back to Anna’s experimenting. While perusing a recipe book, she found a similar recipe for a potato and tomato soup with sage that omitted meat and dairy. However, Anna hates sage in soup, and LOVES thyme (or perhaps she just had fresh thyme in the fridge!). It’s hard to know. Also, being raised a farm kid, she preferred her soups to have the rich, savory flavors of sausage and half n’ half. That’s how this recipe came to be!

Because this soup is so easy to throw together (especially if you use dried thyme), it wasn’t long before Helen, always looking for ways to save time, adopted the recipe into her collection. So, it’s no surprise that this delicious soup became a staple in her kitchen!

A note from Anna on this recipe

When I make this soup, I always use fresh thyme, garlic, and white wine. But my mom doesn’t really cook with fresh herbs or garlic and wine, so feel free to substitute dried thyme or an Italian herb mix, granulated garlic powder, and skip the wine. It will still turn out great! That’s the magic of soup!

I actually had to make this soup for my mom before she would believe it was good enough for the guests. And then once she started making it, she was always calling me asking how much sausage and how many potatoes, etc. I didn’t really know the answers to those questions because I was just throwing together this recipe without measuring anything…just like her!

Anyway, we had a rare role reversal where she got a taste of what it’s like to jump through her hoops to get one of her recipes recorded in a way that makes it easy for someone else to recreate the dish. And I got to experience firsthand how difficult it is to explain to her exactly what I was doing in this recipe.

“Oh you know, just add tomatoes until it looks like enough.” LOL

A note from Helen on basic Soup tips

Soup is my most favorite thing to make. It’s not hard once you get the hang of it (except for all the slicing and dicing), and I love eating it.

When I make soup, I don’t follow any recipes or measure. Soup making is kind of a taste-and-adjust type of cooking for me. We’ve spent some time guessing at spice measurements and included hints at getting that flavor right.

The important thing is to not be intimidated. Soup making is something you learn by doing. 

Another good thing about not following a recipe exactly is that you can make the soup taste how you like it. For example, I like my broth more thin, but Anna makes her broths more creamy. In this recipe, if you like more meat, add more of that. Or if you don’t like garlic, use less. So on and so forth. Make it your own!

One secret to a good tasting soup is to make a large pot of it, at least 5 quarts or more! There are more vegetables to add flavor in a large pot, etc, and it’s easier to season just right. You can always freeze the leftovers. 

The other secret is being armed with an amazing broth base! We use different brands, but one that is a paste is always better than box broth or a powder!

A note from Anna on Fresh Thyme

Helen generally uses dried thyme or a dried Italian herb mix to flavor this soup and it turns out amazing. But I always uses fresh thyme. It can be REALLY putzy to get leaves off the stems, even for me who is up for this sort of thing, so I generally prepare my thyme first before I start the soup.

You’ll notice that some parts of the stems are supple, green, and break easily. Those bits of the stem are fine to end up in your soup. The parts of the stem you need to get rid of are the woody, hard, brown parts. Those are sharp like tiny sticks and will ruin your soup. One technique for getting the thyme leaves off the woody stem is to pinch the top of one stem in one hand and then run your other thumb and forefinger down the branch from top to bottom to pop the leaves off. There is a frustrating learning curve with this technique! Luckily, you can also buy tools to help with this. Or check out this more in-depth how to!

I do think it’s worth it! But I generally have more time than my mom!

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Jump to Recipe

STEPS: EXPLAINED, WITH TIDBITS AND ADVICE

1. Start by dicing 2 large white onions (about 1 pound) and 8-9 red potatoes (about 1.5 pounds). Make sure all your onions are about the same size as each other. This is more important with the potatoes so they cook evenly. The size of the diced potatoes can be your preference. We usually do a little over half an inch and leave the skins on. If you leave the skins, make sure you wash the potatoes well and remove any large eyes!

2. In a large pot over medium heat, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil or enough that the bottom of the pot is nicely covered. Once the oil is warmed up, add the diced onions. Sprinkle the onions with about 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Cook them, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until they start to get translucent.

3. Add the diced potatoes and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are a little browned on the outside but not falling apart. This step is tricky because you want to stir them enough that they are cooking evenly but not so much that you mush them. This is the step where Helen gets distracted and wanders away and the potatoes burn, so be diligent!

4. Once the potatoes are looking good, add 4 cloves of minced garlic. If you are going to use granulated garlic powder, you can skip this step and add it later with all the other seasonings once you have your broth going. Cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes.

5. Add 1/2 cup of any dry white wine. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, stirring to deglaze the pot if anything is stuck to the bottom. If you don’t want to use wine, then skip this step. Your soup will still be amazing!

6. Add 28oz of your favorite canned, diced tomatoes (2 14oz cans) and 8 cups of the hottest water you can get from your sink. Cover your soup and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to medium high if your stove top needs that to get your soup boiling. NOTE: Anna will use about 6 cups of fresh tomatoes when she can get them from the farmers market. To use fresh tomatoes, just dice them and toss them in.

7. While you are waiting for your soup to boil, cook 2 pounds of Italian pork or turkey sausage in a large frying pan on medium heat. If you are going with pork, it usually has enough fat that you don’t need to add olive oil to your pan, but if you are frying ground turkey or some other lean, ground meat, heat up about a tablespoon of olive oil in your pan before you add the meat so it doesn’t stick and burn. If you are familiar with the ground meat you chose and know it tastes great without any help, than pan fry it, stirring often, until it’s cooked through and has a brown/gray appearance (no pink anywhere).

Depending on what meat you go with and how it’s seasoned already, you may need to improvise a bit to add flavor. If you’re unsure of the flavor, cook a teaspoon of the meat in a little bowl in the microwave. This usually only takes about a minute. Then you can taste it and see if it needs something. Anna uses ground turkey in her soup and the flavoring is usually pretty weak or non-existent. If you are in that situation, once you start to cook your meat, spread it out in an even layer across the whole pan. Then, grab your spices* of choice and completely cover the meat in an even coating with each spice. Then stir the meat really well to combine.

Knowing how much to add is one of those things you can really only learn with trail and error. Too much pepper or salt is the hardest flavor to correct if you go too heavy, so if you are unsure of yourself, go light on those two. Taste the meat once it’s cooked. If the flavor is weak, go heavier next. If the flavor is overpowering, go lighter. Luckily since this meat is going in a soup, even if the flavor is too weak or too strong, you should still be OK because the meat will blend with the flavorful broth. Unless it’s really really bad or salty or something like that. Then, maybe you have a vegetarian dish this time around. LOL

* For spices, Anna uses a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Helen uses a poultry seasoning mix.

8. Once your meat is done, add it to your soup, which should be boiling nicely by now, and stir thoroughly. You want a nice, healthy simmer with smaller boiling bubbles. If it’s really boiling aggressively, making lots of noise, and splattering, turn the heat down. You don’t want your bottom to burn (like the first time Anna made soup on her own) or to boil off all your liquid.

9. Now that the meat is added, it’s time to start flavoring your broth! Give it a taste. At this stage, it’s probably pretty bad, like hot tomato water. That’s normal. If it has more flavor from your meat, then you can have that in your head as you start to add seasonings. The most important thing is knowing where things are at so you don’t, for example, add more salt when none is needed.

Add 3 tablespoons chicken base. Stir to combine. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder (double it if you skipped the fresh garlic), and 3-4 tablespoons of fresh or dried thyme or dried Italian herb mix. Let cook for about 5 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Now, taste it. What does it need? Can you taste the pepper? The herbs? Does it need more chicken flavor? How’s the salt level? If it needs salt, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Then, taste it again. If it’s sort of blah, add more chicken base, garlic, and herbs. Let cook for another 5 minutes and then taste it again. What does it need or is it just right? Sometimes, Anna will add some cayenne pepper or chili powder to give it a kick!

If you go overboard on any one spice, add more water, and try again. Also remember that when you add your half n’ half at the end, it will dilute the flavor a tiny bit, so keep that in mind.

10. Once you’re satisfied with how your broth tastes, simmer for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Check them after 10 minutes by poking a bigger piece of potato with a fork. Make sure to stir your soup half way through this time so you don’t burn the bottom.

11. Once the potatoes are done, turn the soup down to low and wait for it to stop boiling. Then add 1 1/2 cups of half n’ half to finish the soup. Give it another taste to make sure the half n’ half didn’t dilute your flavors too much. If this happens, add in what’s missing!

12. Turn the heat off if you are satisfied with the flavor and serve with your favorite rustic, crusty bread!