Zuppa Toscana

ABeautifulDistraction

1 lb. mild Italian sausage, casings removed
2 pieces thick cut bacon, chopped (I use kitchen shears to cut into small pieces)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 TBSP dried basil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
6 c. chicken broth
4 large potatoes, skins on, diced
1 bunch kale ruffles, chopped into 2" squares
1/2 c. heavy cream
fresh Parmesan, shaved

Place Italian sausage and bacon pieces into a large pot. Cook over medium heat until browned. If there is a lot of grease in the pot, drain off leaving approximately 1 TBSP. Add onion and garlic, cook 3-5 minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes.(Depending on your carb allowance you can reduce to 1 potato or leave out entirely.) Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Add seasonings and heavy cream. Cook 10 minutes more on low heat, stirring often, then add kale ruffles. Allow ruffles to wilt slightly (about 5 minutes). Ladle into bowls and top with fresh shaved Parmesan.

**edited twice because I had a little trouble fat fingering. >.<

I have fed this to my hubby and 4 kids for over 10 years now. Everyone loves it. Sorry I don't have the nutritional breakdown.

KnitOrMiss

My tried and tested version... I even went to the OG at one point, expecting theirs to be great, and just skipping the potatoes - and it paled in comparison! So this is my go to always now. Easy to freeze and store leftovers!

myfitnesspal.com/blog/KnitOrMiss/view/copycat-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-soup-recipe-739915

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
As currently prepared: (Notes for improving the recipe at the bottom!)


1 pound bulk spicy and hot sausage (recipe called for spicy Italian, but this was way cheaper, so I just added Italian seasoning to the broth)

1 bunch kale, chopped - about 3 cups (roughly - adjust to taste)

1 stick butter (1/4 cup or 8 TBSP, depending on location)

1 TBSP olive oil

4 cups broth (stock, broth, or water with buillion)

2-6 cloves garlic smashed/chopped/pureed, to taste

1/2 onion chopped or pureed, color to taste

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1/4-1 tsp Italian seasoning, to taste if not using Italian Sausage

Roughly 4 oz/8 tbsp heavy whipping cream, to taste


Chop up tough kale stems. Brown sausage and kale stems together. I tried to do them in 1/2" to 1/4" pieces. Cook through. Drain excess grease. Set aside.

Chop/puree garlic and onion (I used my ultimate chopper, comes out like a rough paste. Feel free to leave as chunky as you like to taste.) Add olive oil to same pan as browned sausage in. Add onion and garlic. Cook down until translucent or most of the liquid is cooked out.

Deglaze with stock/broth. Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Simmer broth for 30 minutes.

Chop kale into very thin strips (1/8"-1/4"). May shred using processor what have you, to taste. Add butter, sausage, kale stems, and chopped kale back to pot. Simmer until kale is softened. For me, this was 20+ minutes until it was as soft as I prefer.

*** NOTE: At this point STOP if you plan to refrigerate it. Reheat the broth at this point. Only add the heavy cream when ready to eat. ***

Portion out into serving bowls. Makes roughly 6 or 8 1-cup servings, I think. Add 2-6 TBSP of heavy cream to each bowl, amount to taste. Stir and serve. (Again, note, add cream only as serving - this makes it much easier to reheat!)


Modifications - this was so much kale! I might have underestimated slighlty. So I'm purchase and browning 1-2 additional pounds of sausage to add to this tonight. I will be adding at least 2 more cups of stock/broth. I will season to taste. But I'm thinking the ratio of sausage to kale will be better to me!

Sausage - feel free to get any kind of sausage, any kind of ground/minced meat - just make sure to seasoon while cook if unseasoned product with at least salt and pepper. If you get ITALIAN sausage, be sure to leave out the Italian seasoning, unless it needs more punch. Also, if you do not buy a spicy sausage but want it spicy, add crushed red pepper flakes to taste.

Kale - you can use any green that wilts. Spinach or other greens can easily be used. If the stems are tough, be sure to "fry" them along side the sausage. I imagine even cabbage could be interesting here.

Garlic - original recipe called for 2 cloves. Use to taste.

Onion - original recipe called for one onion, but my was slightly larger, so I only used half.

Italian Seasoning - add to taste if purchasing sausage that isn't Italian. Mine was $2 instead of $4 just purchasing regular Spicy sausage.

Heavy cream is to taste. I would add at least on TBSP per bowl. Can supplement with other type of cream or additional butter.

Also this original recipe called for potatoes, just like the soup at the restaurant, but sincerely, this was so great a soup that I just didn't even notice they were missing. Feel free to add potatoes or riced cauliflower or any other veggie you prefer, if you've got the room for it.


SURPRISE SURPRISE - once again the recipe add link is not giving me nutritional data. I will post that later.

UPDATE: Nutritional Data (may change, have to confirm sausage info)

8 servings
Calories: 442
Fat 41 grams (Saturated 20 g; Monounsaturated 6 g)
Cholesterol: 112 mg
Sodium: 1142 mg
Potassium: 282 mg
Carbs: 6 grams, Fiber: 1 gram, Sugar: 1 gram
Protein: 10 grams
Vitamin A: 25%
Vitamin C: 5%
Calcium: 8%
Iron: 4%

kimberwolf71

I finally made this for my work lunch soup rotation because I was getting tired of the "same old". What a delicious change of pace!!! Extra hot sausage just added a whole lot of yum!