Better than OG's Zuppa Toscana (Hearty Tuscan Soup)
Patricia @ ButterYum
It's that crazy time of the year when the weather doesn't quite know if it should be warm or cold. Perfect soup weather - not that I need cold weather to enjoy soup, but it does seem a bit more appropriate when there's a chill in the air.
A dear friend recently had surgery so I volunteered to bring her dinner. She and I occasionally have lunch together and every time we've eaten at Olive Garden, she's ordered the Zuppa Toscana. I’ve had it once or twice, and think it’s ok, but it’s so watery. I knew I could come up with a much heartier version.
The verdict, I received an email saying they loved the soup and one family member proclaimed it the best soup she'd ever had. I don't know about that, but who am I to argue?
Start with sweet Italian sausage (although hot sausage works equally well if that’s what you like). I bought links and removed the casings.
Break up the sausage as it cooks. This awesome tool works so well for breaking up clumps of ground beef, turkey, and sausage.
The sausage is done when no traces of pink remain.
Remove the cooked sausage from the pan, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
In the same pan, saute the onions (and garlic if using) in the rendered sausage fat.
When the onions are translucent, add the potatoes. I cut my potatoes into small pieces so they'd cook fast, but you can leave them in larger slices like the restaurant does if you prefer. I forgot to add my carrots at this point (you'll see my fix for that later, but you can add them now).
Return the sausage to the pan and add the chicken stock and bacon (regular or turkey bacon). Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
When the potatoes are tender, add the chopped kale.
The kale will wilt down quite a bit.
This is where I realized that I had forgotten to add the carrots earlier so I put them in a microwave safe container, with a little of the chicken stock from the pan, and I cooked them for a few minutes to soften before adding them to the soup. That little bit of extra color adds so much!
Just before serving, stir in the heavy cream and chopped fresh parsley.
How good does that look? Don't forget to taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!
Items used to make this recipe:
(affiliate links)
meat chopper thingy https://amzn.to/3sSr3kz
enameled cast iron braiser https://amzn.to/3fp5BAU
my favorite knife https://amzn.to/34n8zju
the world's best vegetable peeler! (not good for lefties) https://amzn.to/3r8ZhQQ
Hearty Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices (or dice if you need them to cook faster)
2 large carrots, peeled and minced
1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon
5 cups chicken broth (homemade is best - try my easy recipe here)
3 cups chopped kale (no stems)
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
optional: 28 ounces canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Directions
Remove sausage from casing if purchased in link form.
In a large pan, heat oil and brown sausage until cooked through, breaking up large clumps as you go; remove from pan and reserve.
In same pan, saute onions in the rendered sausage fat until translucent; add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds more.
Add potatoes, carrots, sausage, bacon, and chicken broth; simmer over medium heat for 20-30 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are tender.
Add chopped kale; simmer for another 10 minutes.
Stir in heavy cream and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Stir in chopped parsley and optional cannellini beans just before serving.
Note
For an even more hearty version, add a can or two of rinsed and drained cannellini beans about 5 minutes before serving.