Zuppa Toscana
Zuppa Toscana is a comfort food favorite, inspired by the popular dish at Olive Garden. It’s quick and easy to make for a weeknight dinner, and the leftovers are even better!
Ingredients:
1 pound ground Italian sausage (turkey sausage works great here)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white onion, finely diced (¼ inch)
1.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, medium diced (½ - ¾ inch)
6 cups chicken stock (Better Than Bouillion is a favorite)
3 cups chopped fresh kale
1 cup heavy whipping cream (or 1 cup plain Greek yogurt for a lower fat, higher protein substitute)
Finely ground sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
6 pieces bacon, cooked and chopped
Your favorite rustic bread, sliced
Instructions:
Brown sausage in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, and break up into small crumbles as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a separate dish and set aside. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the grease in the stockpot, and discard the excess. For a lower fat soup, spoon the sausage crumbles into a strainer first to drain additional grease off the cooked sausage crumbles.
Add diced onions to the stockpot and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Next, add the minced garlic and sauté for just 1 minute, stirring occasionally, to just bring out the flavor and aroma.
Add chicken stock and stir to deglaze the pot. The browned bits are so flavorful!
Stir in the potatoes and cooked sausage, and continue cooking until the mixture comes to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Stir in kale and cream, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes to wilt the kale, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm with bacon bits and toasted bread.
You can modify the recipe for a slow cooker by completing steps 1-3 on the stove. Browning the sausage and sauté the onions and garlic in a smaller pan, then deglaze the pan with 1 cup of chicken stock. Complete steps 4-5 in the slow cooker, combining the sausage, onion, garlic, and delicious bits with the potatoes and chicken stock. Set it to low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender, then stir in the kale and cream 5 minutes before serving.
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