Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Spicy Tuscan Soup


When I was pregnant with my daughter, I could have lived off of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. I loved it so much. I still love it only now I don't have to beg my husband to take me to Olive Garden when the craving hits, because I just learned how to make it from scratch at home. It's easy! And oh so good.


I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen portion of The Pioneer Woman.

printable recipe
Spicy Tuscan Soup
serves 6

1 pound Spicy Breakfast Sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage)
1 whole Medium Red Onion, Diced
2 slices Bacon, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole Medium Potatoes
1 quart Warm Water
3 cubes Chicken Bouillon
¼ bunch Kale, Roughly Chopped
½ cup Heavy Cream
Salt And Pepper, to taste



In a large stockpot or Dutch Oven, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up as you cook it, until no longer pink. Drain and set aside.


Add diced onions and bacon to stock pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook until onions are clear.



Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4″ slices. Cut the slices in half again, unless using small potatoes. Add warm water, bouillon cubes and potatoes to the Dutch oven and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are almost done.



Add kale, cooked sausage and cream.



Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot with French Bread or Butter Rolls. I think this soup was just as good, if not better, the next day as leftovers! Even the kale stayed fresh tasting in the soup. Fantastic.

9 comments:

  1. Hey girl! Found you via FTLOB! ANd I'm so excited. i love finding and trying new recipes, and in our cold SD winter, soup is always a hit!! YAY!! So happy to have found you!

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  2. This soup looks amazing! I'll have to try it soon!

    ~kp

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  3. This soup is awesome--I couldn't agree more! I'm laughing right now because I made and photographed it a couple weeks ago, and am blogging about it next week or the following. Good recipes like this one get around, I guess. =)

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  4. I have seen this recipe climb the ranks of TK the past couple of weeks, and I've been so curious to try it. I've only been to Olive Garden a couple of times in my life (I know, I know!) and I'd never even heard of this soup before a couple of days ago. It looks absolutely delicious--I mean, cream, garlic, bacon, potatoes--what's not to love??

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  5. Made this for lunch today...had two bowls. My new favorite soup! Delicious!! Thanks :)

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  6. Thanks for the recipe! My husband loves this soup and says it tastes better than Olive Garden's.

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  7. Heather, I made this last night and we loved it. I used chicken stock because I did have that on hand and had to add some yellow onions since I had such a small red one, but it was delicious. My mind is working on other soup additions that might be good when I happen to have other veg on hand. I might add carrots next time, just to increase vegetable intake. Have you ever tried other ingredients to the sausage/bacon/cream base? -Judy

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  8. My hubby's favorite soup if Zuppa Tuscana - and this looks sooo close to it I wonder if he'd be able to tell I didn't order take out. ^_~ I'll let you know!

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  9. So glad you enjoyed the soup!! It's my recipe on TK. I LOVE when people like it!

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