Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana Soup
Try this Olive Garden Copycat Recipe for Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Olive Garden Copycat Recipe for Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 22.2131923440205 g
- Cholesterol 43.09127515 mg
- Fat 17.9933306175811 g
- Fiber 2.14382156735483 g
- Protein 11.0356452078662 g
- Saturated Fat 6.43899257046218 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (320g)
- Sodium 432.542988614996 mg
- Sugar 20.0693707766656 g
- Trans Fat 1.02696164871673 g
- Calories 292 calories
Step-by-step
- Start by cutting both potatoes into large chunks as seen in the photos. You don't want small pieces of potato because you need it to stay in tack when it's cooking. If they are cut too small it may turn to mush.
- Next brown your sausage in the same pot you plan to use for the soup.
- After the sausage is completely brown add the water, onions and potatoes.
- Now add the garlic and bouillon.
- Stir it until all the bouillon has been incorporated into the soup. Let this cook over medium heat until the potatoes have fully cooked and are soft.
- Lastly add the heavy whipping cream and the kale leaves. Be sure to tear the kale leaves into bite size pieces.
- Cook for a few minutes more until the kale leaves are soft.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Adding the heavy cream and kale during the final three minutes of simmering prevents the dairy from curdling and keeps the greens bright green. Cutting starchy russet potatoes into large chunks rather than small cubes ensures the tubers retain their structural integrity during the 20-minute boil. Small pieces dissolve into starch paste, ruining the broth consistency.
Maximizing Ingredient Value at Home
Recreating restaurant soups economically relies on utilizing concentrated flavor bases. Commercial chicken base dissolved in water yields a robust broth for pennies per serving compared to cartons of liquid stock. Brown the mild Italian sausage directly in the soup pot first to render the pork fat. Retaining this fat contributes essential flavor to the onion and garlic sweat before the water goes into the vessel. Russet potatoes, possessing high starch content, naturally thicken the liquid slightly as they soften. Heavy whipping cream provides richness without requiring a flour-based roux. Tear kale leaves by hand to avoid bruised edges that turn brown prematurely in hot liquid. Whole milk cannot substitute for heavy whipping cream at a 1:1 ratio because the lower fat content causes the dairy to break under prolonged heat. Store leftover soup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- Curdled cream indicates the heat was too high after dairy addition.
- Mushy potatoes mean the pieces were sliced smaller than two inches.
- Bitter greens result from leaving tough central stems attached to the kale.
