Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana

My mom gave me a big bag full of fingerling potatoes that she’d roasted for a crowd and ended up with piles of leftovers.  I already had kale and cream in the fridge and italian sausage in the freezer, so making this soup was a no brainer.  Although I’ve never made it before, I have this soup almost every time I go to the Olive Garden… there’s something about the spicy, creamy combination, and the potatoes, sausage and kale that gets me every time.

Here’s the recipe that I based my soup on.  I made a couple of changes, partly because I had pre-cooked potatoes, and partly because I wondered if sausage and bacon wasn’t overkill.  So I omitted the bacon.  I think I might include it in the future, just for a somewhat richer flavor.

I thought this was good.  It wasn’t fantastic and not as good as at the OG, but good enough for a satisfying meal (and leftovers), and I’ll definitely be making it again.

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers [I used less because I used hot Italian sausage]
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces [I omitted the bacon, but I might use some in the future]
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon [instead of the water+bouillon, I used 8 cups of chicken broth]
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale [I used more kale, partly because I wanted more nutrition in the soup, and partly because I wasn't sure what I'd do with leftover kale.]

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!