Zuppa Toscana--Posted by Joy

Taken from Tuscanrecipes.com: 

Olive Garden® Zuppa Toscana*

This is a much requested recipe on the site given its name! Someone who used to work at the Olive Garden sent in the original recipe and I've adapted it to serve just 6-8. Try it since it is really yummy!

It is a very good soup and hits the spot on cold winter days. I've included this and a few other Olive Garden-inspired recipes on the site for all of our visitors that enjoy eating at the restaurant chain. In my opinion, making these recipes at home makes them even better than the ones you eat at the restaurant! :)

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!

Buon appetito!



*JOY'S NOTES: This recipe is really good! I used hot Italian sausage so I didn't add as much red pepper. I didn't have bullion cubes, and I don't like them anyway, so I used 10 cups of turkey stock. I didn't have heavy cream so I used half and half. And I used baby spinach instead of kale. It turned out really yummy :-) A little bit time consuming, but I cooked a lot of extra sausage so that was the main work. Obviously not the healthiest soup...but really tasty :-)