Zuppa Toscana Soup (like at Olive Garden)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb Italian Sausage
- 4 oz bacon (about 4 slices), diced into small pieces
- 1 cup chopped small yellow onion
- 3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes , cut into smaller pieces
- 1 tsp Stevia
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds , slightly crushed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 1/2 cups packed chopped kale
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside. Add diced bacon to saucepan, return to heat and saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced onions to bacon in saucepan and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes longer.
- Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, stevia, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cooked sausage. Cover saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 – 15 minutes. Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 – 10 minutes longer. 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.
printable version: Zuppa Toscana Soup