Sausage and Potato Soup

Soups and Stews has to be the easiest dish to make. It is basically ingredients thrown together. As I have mentioned before nothing is better than a hot bowl of soup on a cold night served with some kind of crusty bread. I like a chunky soup with lot of vegetables. When my father would make soup he would cook it until the vegetables were mush, ok what's the point?


lb polish sausage (cubed)
2 tsp sofrito (if you don't have use garlic but sofrito is so much better)
4 large potatoes (cut in large cubes)
2 large onions (chopped)
2 large carrots (chopped)
2 large celery stalks (chopped)
1 1/2 qt chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
2 tbsp butter (soften)
1 tbsp flour

Chop all vegetables and set aside. Keep potatoes in water because they will turn brown. Preheat large pot to medium heat and add extra virgin olive oil. Add onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, sofrito and italian seasoning. Cook vegetables until onions are translucent. Now add potatoes and sausage. Saute for 10 minutes. Add broth bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for an hour until potatoes are fork tender. Mix flour and butter to form a paste and add to soup and mix. You may see small pieces of the paste but this will dissolve quickly. The paste will thicken the broth slightly and broth will no longer be clear. It also adds a richer taste to the soup. Now serve with your favorite crusty bread and Enjoy!