Zuppa Toscana

1 mild Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
3 slices of bacon, trimmed of excess fat and cut into ½" pieces
6 cups chicken stock
8 cups unpeeled potatoes, cut in approx. ¾" dice
½ tsp fennel seed
½ cup kale, coarsely chopped and packed, or 1 cup loose

1. Remove sausage from casing and brown in large pot, breaking up large pieces as it cooks. When sausage is thoroughly cooked and slightly brown, remove it from pot and drain off all the fat.
2. Add onion and bacon to same pot. Stir and cook until the bacon begins to brown and the onions soften.
3. Add chicken stock and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are very done.
4. Take about 2-3 cups of potatoes and stock from the pot and puree in a blender. Add back to pot along with the sausage, fennel seed and kale and simmer about 5-10 minutes.
5. Salt to taste. Let it sit a few minutes before serving. Garnish with some grated Romano cheese on top.