Need a way to get more kale in your diet? Try this super easy, oh-so-delicious Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion minced, diced, or sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced fine
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage de-cased and crumbled
- 3 large Russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 16 oz chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 1½ pint Half & Half
- 2 cups kale de-stalked, shredded
- 2 - 6 slices turkey bacon cooked and crumbled
- Melt butter in the bottom of a soup pot/kettle. Sautee onions and garlic until onions are translucent.
- Add sausage and crumble while cooking. Cook thoroughly and drain the majority of the fat from the pan (keep a couple tablespoons in the pan).
- Add potatoes, chicken broth, and water to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 15 minutes.
- Add Half & Half and kale and cook for 10 - 15 minutes.
So, Kale is this super important food (which is why it gets a capital ‘Kâ) and weâre supposed to (according to some super smart people somewhere) eat it regularly. I have known this for a while but chose to ignore it because - Ewww, kale!. Leafy green vegetables arenât anywhere near the top of my food pyramid… honestly, theyâre not even on the thing. I donât like spinach or cabbage and can only tolerate turnip/collard greens if they are cooked
I have known this for a while but chose to ignore it because - Ewww, kale!. Leafy green vegetables arenât anywhere near the top of my food pyramid… honestly, theyâre not even on the thing. I donât like spinach or cabbage and can only tolerate turnip/collard greens if they are cooked just right, which is a rarity.
This was all true up âtil about a month ago. We went to Olive Garden for a late lunch/early dinner and I knowingly ordered a soup that had kale as a center ingredient. Zuppa Toscana. I donât think I have an Italian bone in my body so I donât know what Italian food is supposed to taste like, but this soup came super close to showing me.
From the first spoon I was hooked and I knew I had to recreate this amazing bowl of heaven. This past Friday I decided it was time to try it. I got a gist of the basic ingredients and grabbed what I didnât have from the grocery store.
Our local, podunk grocery story actually had kale, curly kale!!
The ingredients list is surprisingly simple and there arenât any weird things you need to hunt down. Itâs basic ingredients coming together to make perfection… at least to me and the others who kept raving on this soup!
If youâve had the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden I dare you to try this and see if you can tell the difference! If anything, this recipe is better than Olive Gardenâs Zuppa Toscana - itâs so fresh and needs no added seasoning.
