Fake Zuppa Toscana Recipe

My husband loves the potato, kale and sausage soup they have at Olive Garden.  And, if you hadn't noticed already I think I am becoming obsessed with soup.  So, I hunted out a recipe and this one works!  It serves about a dozen people though and I have made a few modifications because I felt it came out too thick.   I think this could actually serve about 17 people now. I hope you enjoy.

Fake Zuppa Toscana Soup

Serves: 12

Time: 35 minutes

 Ingredients:

2 Bunches of Kale or 1 large bunch

12 Whole Red potatoes thinly sliced

1Whole onion (I ground mine to a pulp)

1 1/2 Lb of Italian sweet Sausage (you could go spicy too)

1/2 t Red Pepper flakes (you may want to use less if using spicy sausage or not)

4 C Low Sodium Chicken Broth

2 C Whole Milk
Or

4 C Half & Half
Or

1/2 C Heavy Cream

Fresh or dried Oregano to taste

Black Pepper to taste 

Need: 

 stock pot

sauté pan

ladle

spatula or spoon

food processor or just a chopping knife.

Let's get cooking.

First prep the Kale by washing it and tearing the leaves away from the stalk and ripping the Kale leaves into bite sized pieces. Put aside.

  Now prep the potatoes by washing them and slicing them with the skin on into thin 2 cm sheets.  Then boil until tender not mushy drain and set aside.

 Chop up the onion into small pieces.  My family prefers the taste of onion but no evidence of onion so I pulverized them in the food processor.

Take the sausage out of it's casing and cook until gray brown while continuing to break it into pieces.  Drain the sausage and then take the sausage and chopped it in the food processor until they were more pea sized to thumb sized bites.  You could also try cooking it in bite sized pieces by I found that hard to do.

Cook for two minutes the remainder of sausage and the ground onion in the sausage pan at medium heat.

Stir together in a stock pot the sausage, red pepper flakes, oregano, chicken broth, milk, and half & half and let simmer for 30 min or less. You just want to thicken up the liquid a little and bring together the ingredients.

 Add the potatoes and check the consistency and add more chicken broth or heavy cream if it is too thick for your liking or too thin.  Mix in the Kale last and simmer for another 10 or more minutes until the Kale is incorporated and slightly softened.  

Time to eat! 

You have a ton here so you could either have up to 12 serving of this or you could put some in the freezer for later.

Thanks so much for reading and keep on crafting kiddos.