A rustic Italian soup built in one pot — sausage rendered to gold, potatoes simmered in real broth, finished with cream, kale, and a whisper of lemon.
Set a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the turkey bacon (8 oz, sliced into ½-inch pieces) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the edges turn golden — about 6–8 minutes. This rendered fat is the foundation of your entire soup. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving every drop of fat in the pot.
Don't rush this step — low and slow renders more fat.Increase heat to medium-high. Add the Italian sausage (1 lb, casings removed) to the pot in rough pieces. Press it into the fat and let it sit undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until you get a deep golden-brown crust. Break it into bite-sized pieces and continue cooking until browned all over — about 5 minutes total. The Maillard reaction here is doing the heavy lifting for your broth's flavor. Remove sausage and set aside with the bacon.
Every time protein hits a hot pan, it leaves behind a layer of fond — those caramelized brown bits stuck to the bottom. That's concentrated flavor. By browning the bacon first, then the sausage in that bacon fat, you're building layers. When the wine hits the pot next, it dissolves all of that goodness directly into your soup. Two pans means half the flavor stays behind on a pan you're going to wash.
Lower heat to medium. Add the diced onion (1 medium) to the pot and cook in the rendered fat, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent — about 3–4 minutes. Add the garlic (3 cloves, minced) and red pepper flakes (¼ tsp) and stir for 30 seconds — just until fragrant. Never let the garlic go past golden.
Burnt garlic is bitter garlic. Pull the pot off heat if it darkens.Pour in the white wine (¼ cup) and use a wooden spoon to scrape every bit of fond off the bottom of the pot. Let it simmer until the raw alcohol smell cooks off — about 1 minute. This is the make-or-break moment that separates a good soup from a great one.
No wine on hand? A splash of chicken broth works for deglazing, but the wine adds an acidity and depth that's hard to replace. Even the cheapest dry white you'd drink will do beautifully here — save the expensive stuff for your glass.
Pour in all 64 oz of chicken broth. Add the sliced potatoes (2 large, in ½-inch half-moons), the Parmesan rind, and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to a gentle simmer.
Simmer uncovered for 15–18 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender but not falling apart. The rind will slowly melt, adding a silky umami richness you can't get any other way. Return the browned sausage and bacon to the pot for the last 5 minutes of simmering. Fish out the Parmesan rind (what's left of it) and bay leaf.
A Parmesan rind is essentially concentrated umami. As it simmers, the proteins and fats dissolve slowly into your broth, creating a savory depth that would otherwise require hours of reduction. Save your rinds in a freezer bag — they're liquid gold for soups and braises. This is the difference between "good" and "what is IN this?"
In a separate bowl, ladle about ½ cup of the hot broth into the heavy cream (1 cup) and whisk together. This tempers the cream so it won't break when it hits the hot soup. Pour the tempered cream back into the pot and stir gently.
Never dump cold cream straight into boiling soup — it can curdle.Add the torn kale (5 large leaves, stems fully removed) and stir it into the soup. Let it simmer gently for 4–5 minutes until the kale is tender but still vibrant green. Don't be afraid to give it the full time — in a soup this rich, you want the kale silky, not chewy.
Remove from heat. Stir in 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust with salt and black pepper. The lemon won't make it taste citrusy — it brightens every other flavor in the pot, cutting through the richness like sunlight through a Tuscan window.
Ladle into warm bowls. Finish each serving with a generous shower of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a crack of black pepper, and a slow drizzle of your best olive oil. The oil creates little pools of green-gold on the surface that carry the aroma straight to you before the first spoonful. This is not optional.