This is my take on Olive Garden’s Tuscan Soup: Zuppa Toscana.
(Video tutorial is down below.)
Serving size: 4 to 6 people.
Ingredients:
1 lb. pork sausage (spicy if you prefer)
4 – 6 strips of bacon
1 large onion (yellow or white)
5 – 8 cloves of garlic
2 – 3 medium Idaho potatoes
6 - 8 cups of chicken broth
1 – 2 cups of heavy cream
1 bundle of kale
1 – 2 cups heavy cream
Optional Ingredients:
Red pepper flakes
Prep:
To prep the potatoes, first wash and scrub the potatoes very well. You may peel the skin of the potatoes if you do not like them. However, I personally like them so I keep them on. To make half moon shaped potatoes, first slice the potatoes down length wise, then slice the them down the width at about a quarter of an inch. Place potatoes in a dish and soak them under cold water to prevent the potatoes from turning brown.
To prep the onions, slice the onions down the middle keeping the stem in tack. By doing so, it makes it easier to chop onions. Peel the first paper layer of the onion off. Make slits in the onion going towards the stem. Leave some room from the stem to the slit to keep the onion in tack. After you finish making your slits, slice your onion down the width. As you do so, you will notice that the onions will be perfectly cut. Discard the stem of the onion.
To prep the garlic, take the garlic off its head. Place the garlic on the cutting board and place the back of your knife on top of the garlic. Take your fist and hit your knife. By smashing the garlic, it makes it easier to you to remove the paper and mince the garlic. By smashing garlic, it releases the oil and scent of the garlic. Mince your garlic by taking your knife and run it through the garlic.
To prep the kale you must wash the kale very well. Use one hand to hold the stem of the kale and the other hand to strip the leaves off the stem. Run your knife coarsely through the leaves of the kale.
To prep the bacon, first slice the bacon down the length of the bacon to make the pieces smaller. Then run your knife through the bacon width wise to get small pieces.
Instructions:
Heat a deep pot with oil. I am using olive oil. Once the pot is heated, place the pork sausage in the pot and break it into chunks. In my cooking demonstration, I am using a mild pork sausage; however, I do prefer the spicy pork sausage. If you decide to use the spicy pork sausage, just know that your soup will have a reddish tint to it. Since I used mild sausage, I added some red pepper flakes and black pepper to my sausage but this is completely optional. After the sausage is cooked through, remove it from the pot and set it aside.
While the pot is still hot, put in your bacon pieces and cook it slightly. Don’t let it get crispy! While the bacon is working, add your onion and garlic to the pot and cook it until it becomes translucent. Once the onions are translucent, drain the water from the potatoes and place it in the pot. Add chicken broth the pot until the covers all the ingredients. I have made it with homemade chicken broth before and if you prefer to use homemade chicken broth, please feel free to. However, for the sake of time and this video, I took help from the store and used store brought chicken broth.
Bring the soup up to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer the soup for 20 to 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Add the sausage back to the pot and bring it back to a boil. Turn the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for a couple of minutes. Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust it according to taste.
If you plan on finishing this pot of soup the same day as you make it then you can skip this step. While the heat is still on low, add and mix the heavy cream to the soup. Be careful to not scorch the heavy cream. the Turn off the heat and add the kale to the soup. It is ready to serve once the kale wilts down in the pot.
However, if you plan on having leftovers, transfer the amount of the soup you plan on having that night in a separate pot. I suggest you to do this because reheating food with dairy is not ideal. Bring it to a low simmer add a little bit of heavy cream to the soup. Turn off the heat and add some of the kale to the soup. It is ready to serve once the kale wilts down in the pot. You can save the leftovers by refrigerating it. To reheat the leftovers, follow the same steps as above.
Enjoy!
(Video tutorial is down below.)
Serving size: 4 to 6 people.
Ingredients:
1 lb. pork sausage (spicy if you prefer)
4 – 6 strips of bacon
1 large onion (yellow or white)
5 – 8 cloves of garlic
2 – 3 medium Idaho potatoes
6 - 8 cups of chicken broth
1 – 2 cups of heavy cream
1 bundle of kale
1 – 2 cups heavy cream
Optional Ingredients:
Red pepper flakes
Prep:
To prep the potatoes, first wash and scrub the potatoes very well. You may peel the skin of the potatoes if you do not like them. However, I personally like them so I keep them on. To make half moon shaped potatoes, first slice the potatoes down length wise, then slice the them down the width at about a quarter of an inch. Place potatoes in a dish and soak them under cold water to prevent the potatoes from turning brown.
To prep the onions, slice the onions down the middle keeping the stem in tack. By doing so, it makes it easier to chop onions. Peel the first paper layer of the onion off. Make slits in the onion going towards the stem. Leave some room from the stem to the slit to keep the onion in tack. After you finish making your slits, slice your onion down the width. As you do so, you will notice that the onions will be perfectly cut. Discard the stem of the onion.
To prep the garlic, take the garlic off its head. Place the garlic on the cutting board and place the back of your knife on top of the garlic. Take your fist and hit your knife. By smashing the garlic, it makes it easier to you to remove the paper and mince the garlic. By smashing garlic, it releases the oil and scent of the garlic. Mince your garlic by taking your knife and run it through the garlic.
To prep the kale you must wash the kale very well. Use one hand to hold the stem of the kale and the other hand to strip the leaves off the stem. Run your knife coarsely through the leaves of the kale.
To prep the bacon, first slice the bacon down the length of the bacon to make the pieces smaller. Then run your knife through the bacon width wise to get small pieces.
Instructions:
Heat a deep pot with oil. I am using olive oil. Once the pot is heated, place the pork sausage in the pot and break it into chunks. In my cooking demonstration, I am using a mild pork sausage; however, I do prefer the spicy pork sausage. If you decide to use the spicy pork sausage, just know that your soup will have a reddish tint to it. Since I used mild sausage, I added some red pepper flakes and black pepper to my sausage but this is completely optional. After the sausage is cooked through, remove it from the pot and set it aside.
While the pot is still hot, put in your bacon pieces and cook it slightly. Don’t let it get crispy! While the bacon is working, add your onion and garlic to the pot and cook it until it becomes translucent. Once the onions are translucent, drain the water from the potatoes and place it in the pot. Add chicken broth the pot until the covers all the ingredients. I have made it with homemade chicken broth before and if you prefer to use homemade chicken broth, please feel free to. However, for the sake of time and this video, I took help from the store and used store brought chicken broth.
Bring the soup up to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer the soup for 20 to 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Add the sausage back to the pot and bring it back to a boil. Turn the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for a couple of minutes. Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust it according to taste.
If you plan on finishing this pot of soup the same day as you make it then you can skip this step. While the heat is still on low, add and mix the heavy cream to the soup. Be careful to not scorch the heavy cream. the Turn off the heat and add the kale to the soup. It is ready to serve once the kale wilts down in the pot.
However, if you plan on having leftovers, transfer the amount of the soup you plan on having that night in a separate pot. I suggest you to do this because reheating food with dairy is not ideal. Bring it to a low simmer add a little bit of heavy cream to the soup. Turn off the heat and add some of the kale to the soup. It is ready to serve once the kale wilts down in the pot. You can save the leftovers by refrigerating it. To reheat the leftovers, follow the same steps as above.
Enjoy!