Eat Out...At Home

One of my favorite places to eat is Olive Garden. I know, I know ... the carbs, the fat, the (cough, cough) price tag. In my defense of the price tag, I usually order the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. Have you ever had the Zuppa Toscana? Oh.my.goodness.


Considering the prices of everything else on the menu, this is an economical choice. 


Or is it?


Well, it's not if you know how to make Zuppa Toscana. Which I do, and am happy to share with you!

So, it's like this:

Brown some Italian sausage in a skillet. Make sure it's Italian. Not breakfast sausage. Much, much different flavor. You'll thank me later.

And, if you can do two things at once, go ahead and saute some finely chopped yellow onion with a bit of butter in a large pot.

Once your onions are looking translucent (translation: soft. I'm not a fan of crunchy onions.), add in 3 cloves of minced garlic, some thinly sliced potatoes, and chicken broth.

And about a quart of water. Remember, 4 cups = 1 quart. I always, always forget this mathematical fact.

Then you just want it to boil until the taters are soft. 30 minutes, more or less.

While all this was going on, my sausage was looking something like this:

Once the sausage is totally browned, let it de-grease on a paper towel-lined plate.

Now you're ready to get the rest of the goodness. You'll need kale. I used one whole bunch with the stems removed.

And bacon bits. I thought I had a package of bacon bits in my fridge. I was mistaken. Thankfully, I keep a pretty good supply of bacon on-hand anyway, so I just fried up 4 slices. And my delightful sous chef, David (a.k.a. the hubby), made it into bits for me.

Voila. Instant bacon bits.

At this point I was still waiting on those spuds to get soft. It seemed to be taking for.e.ver. I used my time wisely and grated an entire wedge of Pecorino Romano cheese. Every good soup has great toppings.

Finally, the potatoes were soft enough for me to add about half a bottle of heavy cream. Say that with me. "Heavy. Cream." Don't you go substituting milk or half-and-half to cut fat and calories. It wouldn't be right to the Olive Garden people.

And this is what it looks like post-cream:

Add in the bacon and sausage too. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bring all that to a boil, then add the chopped kale.

Stir and let it simmer for another 5 minutes or so. You want the kale just slightly soft, not the consistency of canned spinach.

Hello, Gorgeous.

Serve it up, top it with generous amounts of that grated Romano cheese, and rest easy knowing you saved yourself $8.95 x (the number of people in your family).

Ok, here's the shortened version:

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned and drained
2-3 large Russet potatoes, sliced in half, then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil or butter
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (or 3 cups) chicken broth
1 quart water
1/3 cup bacon bits (make your own or use store-bought)
1 cup heavy cream
1 bunch kale, stems removed
salt and pepper to taste

Saute potatoes, onion, and garlic in olive oil or butter for 5-7 minutes in a large pot. Meanwhile, brown sausage and drain. Add broth and water to the potatoes, onion, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender. Add sausage and bacon, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Add cream and kale. Let sit five minutes before serving. We love to grate fresh Pecorino Romano cheese.

You're going to love this soup!

Written and submitted by Lindsey @ Penny-wise