The first time I had Zuppa Toscana (at Olive Garden) I was in love! It is a soup that’s a little bit out of the ordinary. It’s hearty, it’s creamy, and it’s full of flavor! My husband lovvvves this soup too. In fact, I think he’s the one who introduced me to it. A few years ago, he was on the “low-carb” diet. I started thinking, that all of the ingredients in the soup (all except the potatoes) were low-carb. So I made a version of this Zuppa Toscana using cauliflower in place of potatoes. It was delicious! So if you are looking for a lower carb soup, just substitute cauliflower for the potatoes.
Here’s how I make it:
1 lb. ground Italian sausage (we prefer mild, but you can use “hot” if you like)
4 slices bacon, diced
½ yellow onion, diced
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups fresh kale, chopped
3 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into ¼” slices
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Start by cutting the potatoes in half, lengthwise and slice into 1/4″ slices.
Roughly chop the kale (enough to measure 1 1/2 cups – loosely packed.)
In a skillet, brown the bacon and sausage over medium-high heat. Drain fat and set aside.
In a large soup pot, put the chicken broth, diced onions, garlic, chopped kale and potato slices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.
After about 8 – 10 minutes, use a fork to check to see if the potatoes are tender. When the potatoes are tender, add the sausage, bacon mixture from the skillet into the soup pot. Stir in the heavy cream and keep the heat on low until serving time (do not boil once the cream has been added so that it won’t curdle or separate – In fact, I usually just keep it hot and add the cream right before serving so I don’t have to watch it so closely.)
Serve with hot breadsticks. Click HERE for our recipe for yummy Twisted Breadsticks.
Whenever I make this soup, I use the remaining bunch of kale to make Crispy Kale Chips!
