Whenever we go to Olive Garden, FavoriteSon always orders the Zuppa Tuscana soup. So, one cold night, I fixated on the idea of making it myself. I found three recipes, all seemingly good on their own, but I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I created my own recipe from the roots of all three and then modified it even further. It turned out GREAT, but again, with the can’t leave well enough alone, I’ve already decided what I’m going to do differently next time. Here’s the three original recipes:
1. http://www.tuscanrecipes.com/recipes/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana.html
2. http://www.copykat.com/2009/03/29/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-ii/
3. http://restaurantrecipesbook.com/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-soup-recipe/
Here’s what I did, with notes on the changes:
First of all, I made a double recipe, which I tend to do very often when I cook. I don’t like to work hard for just one meal. I want leftovers.
Ingredients:
Two packages of turkey sausage or kielbasa (I tend to buy Oscar Mayer or Butterball for about $2 a package)
1½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 large diced white onion (which I diced with my Vidalia chop wizard)
1/2 lb. (or so) crumbled bacon (I bought 2 jars of Hormel Real Bacon Bits
4 cloves minced garlic (I used Spice World Minced Garlic)
1 quart water
2 14.5 oz cans or 32 oz box chicken broth (I used Swanson low sodium
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 lbs. cubed Russet or Idaho potatoes/about 5-6 large potatoes
(again with my Vidalia Chopper – and I didn’t peel the potatoes, I just cleaned them and left the skin on)
2 cups chopped kale (I chopped it small to avoid whining)
Directions:
(I actually did this between step 1 and 2 below)
Cut sausage links open and cook them in the microwave for about 2 minutes or so.
Chop the sausage in the food processor and set aside.
1. Cook onions, garlic, cooked bacon pieces and crushed red pepper in a stock pot on medium heat until onions are transparent. (I added a swirl of olive oil to the pan first.)
2. Add chicken stock and water to the pot and bring to a boil.
3. Add diced potatoes to the pot and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. (about 10-15 min.)
4. Add the cream to the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove some of the potatoes and liquid from the pot and put them in a blender
6. Add the thickened potato mixture from the blender back into the pot
7. Add the sausage and kale, simmer for a few minutes and serve.
sausage “