Olive Garden Copycat - Zuppa Toscana

      Confession.  I have never had this soup at Olive Garden (but My Giant has). Confession #2.   I've made this soup twice for dinner in the last week.  Confession #3.  I'm secretly craving it again for dinner tonight!  Before I married My Giant, I wasn't the biggest fan of sausage, except for breakfast sausage smothered in syrup (YUM!).  Growing up, we just never ate it.  Probably because most of my family doesn't do spicy food (well, mostly my dad).  My Giant has slowly been converting me to sausage, and this dish makes me a lover.  I first had this on one of our weekend trips to visit My Giant's sister Melanie.  She is so good at making super tasty dishes that all her family loves, and this dish is no exception.  This dish can be adjusted to your preferred spice level.  I also use yukon gold potatoes, just because I really like them.  Like, a lot.  Also, My Giant and I both agree that this dish is not complete without a loaf of french bread to soak up all the creamy goodness.

Ingredients

1 pound ground Italian sausage – I prefer mild

4-6 Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced into 1 inch chunks

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups kale, diced

½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cans chicken broth

4 cups water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

      1.     Cook ground sausage in skillet and set aside.

      2.     In a large pot, cook the potatoes and onion and garlic in the chicken stock and water on medium heat until potatoes are done.

      3.     Add sausage and kale and red pepper flakes into the pot with the potatoes and simmer until kale is softened.

      4.      Stir in the heavy cream and simmer until heated thru.

      5.     Serve with your favorite bread.

Click the magic button below for a printer friendly version: