Magical new ingredient alert! Prepared roasted garlic. I found a package near the mushrooms at Whole Foods and was instantly, irrevocably moved to make soup as soon as possible. The roasted garlic gives a sweet, intense flavor that makes anything taste like it's been cooking for ages. In reality, this soup comes together in about 45 minutes.

Combine the roasted garlic with turkey Italian sausage and Parmesan cheese and you can eat this soup for days. Kale and farro make it a nice balanced meal, and it freezes well for future lunches.

If you can't find pre-roasted garlic, it's easy to make your own. Preheat the oven to 400F. Take at least one head of garlic and peel off the loose, papery layers while leaving all the cloves intact. Cut off the top 1/4" of the head, exposing just the top edges of the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Then wrap tightly in foil and roast for about 40 minutes, until cloves are soft and creamy. You can roast a bit longer to create more intensely sweet flavor. To use, just squeeze the softened clove out of the skin.

Kale, Sausage and Farro Soup with Roasted Garlic

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 35 min Total Time: 45 min

Ingredients

2 Italian turkey sausages, casings removed

2 Tbs olive oil, divided

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

6 cloves roasted garlic, smashed, or 2 cloves raw garlic, minced

8 oz / 227 g sliced mushrooms

1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped roughly

1/2 cup farro

6-7 cups chicken broth or water

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for serving

Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Crumble Italian sausage into pan and cook until lightly browed, about 3 minutes. Remove sausage from pan.

Add remaining olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic plus 1/2 tsp salt and stir. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add mushrooms to pan and cook another 3-4 minutes until softened. Add reserved sausage, kale, farro and broth or water. Add a bit more water if it looks too dry, and add a teaspoon of salt if you aren't using any broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, until farro is softened. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a grating of Parmesan cheese.