Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - Loaded with potatoes, sausage, kale and bacon to make the most comforting and delicious soup. Full of flavor and has the perfect amount of spice. Plus, it's made in just one pot in less than an hour!
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - Loaded with potatoes, sausage, kale and bacon to make the most comforting and delicious soup. Full of flavor and has the perfect amount of spice. Plus, it's made in just one pot in less than an hour!
- Carbohydrate 1.3984016553763 g
- Cholesterol 129.168767895962 mg
- Fat 33.2294235863547 g
- Fiber 0.226666673216108 g
- Protein 30.959685284243 g
- Saturated Fat 9.99941240175256 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (244g)
- Sodium 299.562327732652 mg
- Sugar 1.17173498216019 g
- Trans Fat 3.09078393156532 g
- Calories 437 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook the Italian sausage in a dutch oven over medium heat, until browned. After a few minutes, add in the chopped onions and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Drain any extra grease, then remove sausage mixture from pan and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the bacon to the pot and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and place on a paper towel lined plate. Leave about 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan.
- Add the sliced potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium-low and slowly add in the half and half and cooked sausage. You can temper the cream by adding a Tablespoon of the broth to the cream before adding to the top. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Add the kale just before serving. Salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle soup into a bowl and top with crumbled bacon.
A list of ingredients says nothing about how rendered fat behaves in a hot Dutch oven. Brown the Italian sausage over medium heat until deep mahogany crusts form on the bottom of the pan, which builds the primary umami base for the broth. Leave precisely one tablespoon of bacon grease in the vessel before introducing the potatoes; excess fat creates an oily slick rather than a cohesive emulsion once the dairy is added.
Judging Doneness and Dairy Stability
Russet potatoes require strict visual monitoring. Piercing a slice with the tip of a paring knife should yield zero resistance at the center, exactly ten to fifteen minutes into the boiling phase. Raw starch will muddy the broth if undercooked, while overcooked disks dissolve entirely. Tempering the half-and-half by whisking in a spoonful of hot broth prevents protein coagulation and curdling. Introduce the chopped kale in the final sixty seconds of simmering so the leaves collapse while retaining bright green chlorophyll rather than turning drab olive.
- Soup separates upon reheating because dairy solids break down under prolonged boiling; store the base without cream and stir dairy in upon re-warming.
- Freeze the starchy potato and sausage components for up to two months, omitting the dairy entirely until thaw and reheat.
