Zuppa Toscana

It is finally soup season! It’s cold and windy outside, So it’s the perfect time to make a big pot of soup and cozy up.

I first tried Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden a few years ago and I fell in love! It has spicy sausage, potatoes, kale, and bacon <3. This recipe is from the cooking Queen herself Laura Vitale, She has hundreds of amazing (Italian) recipes.

• 4 Slices of Bacon, chopped
• 1 lb of Italian (spicy) Sausage, casing removed
• 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
• 1 white Onion, finely chopped
• 3 Stalks of Celery, finely diced
• 2 Carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 lb of Russet Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning, or more according to taste
• 12 cups of Chicken Stock
• 1 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1 Bunch of Tuscan Kale, stem removed and leaves chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• Adobo seasoning
• Garlic powder

1. Begin by dicing your onion, carrots, garlic and celery (Mirepoix), set aside.
2. In a large pot, cook your chopped bacon, once crispy set the bacon aside on a plate.
3. Leaving the bacon grease in the pot, cook your sausage until fully cooked, set aside.
4. Add olive oil to the pot and cook your onion, carrots, garlic and celery with a few pinches of salt for about 5-8 minutes until the vegetables become slightly tender and have color.
5. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, add chicken broth, potatoes, sausage and bacon.
6. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
7. Taste the soup and season accordingly, add heavy cream and chopped kale, simmer for 10 more minutes.

I highly recommend enjoying the soup with homemade sourdough (recipe coming soon), I also added some shaved parmigiano reggiano and Italian seasoning, and baked it for a few minutes.