Zuppa Toscana

This Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscana is incredibly easy to prepare and is so much better than the original!

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Last week Brian and I were eating this soup at Olive Garden and talking about how amazingly delicious it was (I was soooo hungry that day!).  Then I suddenly remembered I had beautiful KALE ready to be picked in my little garden.  🙂

This is my first garden in a long time, and I had forgotten how rewarding it is.

It’s a little raised bed garden behind the fence that has brought so much enjoyment!  🙂

So I told Brian, “I know I can figure out this recipe and use my kale from the garden.”  I actually like it better than the restaurant version and it smells so good while it’s simmering.

Enjoy!  🙂

Zuppa Toscana

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• Author: Amy @ The Blond Cook
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 40
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 servings

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Description

Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana – So amazingly easy to make at home and a million times better than the original!

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Ingredients

• 5 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 (20-ounce) package hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 of a large onion)
• 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
• 1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 4 medium russet potatoes (about 1–1/2 pounds), cleaned, rinsed and cut into about 1-inch pieces.
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less, to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (more or less, to taste)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 cups tightly packed chopped kale with large stems removed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Optional:  Shredded Parmesan cheese, for topping

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Instructions

1. In a dutch oven or large soup pot, fry bacon over medium high heat until thoroughly cooked (about 5 minutes).  Remove bacon and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Pour off grease in pot.
2. Add sausage to the same pot and cook until browned and no longer pink, crumbling as it cooks (about 5-6 minutes).  Place sausage on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Pour off grease in pot, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
3. Add onions to pot and cook until soft, stirring frequently (about 4-5 minutes).
4. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and nutmeg to pot.  Stir to combine.
6. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.  Cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes).
7. While the soup is simmering, dice the bacon slices.
8. Add kale and cook until kale is tender, about 3-4 minutes.
9. Add heavy cream, cooked sausage and diced bacon.  Stir to combine and cook an additional 2-3 minutes to heat sausage and bacon.

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