Zuppa Toscana Soup {Olive Garden Copycat Recipe}

SoupItalianNon-VegetarianMedium30 min work · 60 min total6

Submitted by Sanjay Patel

Ingredients

6 servings

2 tsp olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage (casings removed if necessary)
4 oz bacon (about 4 slices), diced into small pieces*)
1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes (scrubbed and rinsed then sliced into halves, halves diced into 1/6-inch slices)
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (crushed (optional))
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups packed chopped kale
Finely shredded Romano cheese for serving (optional)

1.
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan.
2.
Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside.
3.
Add diced bacon to saucepan, return to heat and saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced onions and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes longer.
4.
Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, sugar, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cooked sausage.
5.
Cover saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.
6.
Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 - 10 minutes longer.
7.
Stir in half and half and warm through. Use a spoon or ladle to remove excess fat from top of soup if desired. Serve warm topped with Romano cheese.