New Soup Recipe

[oceanloverOH]

I've been working for awhile on developing a copycat recipe for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. I've *almost* got it right, I think....this last batch was excellent, so I thought I'd share.......

Zuppa Toscana
(Olive Garden copycat recipe)

1 pound hot Italian sausage (I use the big links in casings, about 5 links to a pound)
1 med onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 32-oz carton plus 1 14-oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth
4-6 med redskin potatoes (about ½ - ¾ lb)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1-1½ cups (about two large branches) fresh kale
1-1½ cups half and half
1 pat of butter (optional)
Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Remove the sausage from its casings. Break up and brown the sausage in a 4-quart soup pot along with the onion and garlic; drain fat and return meat to soup pot. Scrub potatoes but don't peel them. Slice in half lengthwise, then in ¼ inch slices. Add broth, potatoes and pepper to cooked sausage. Reduce heat to low, cover (tilted) and simmer 30 minutes. Wash two large fresh kale branches. Cut curly leaves from central woody stalk; discard stalk. Tear curly leaves into medium-sized pieces. Add the kale and half and half; simmer a few minutes until heated through and kale is somewhat limp but still semi-crisp. Stir in butter (optional) and serve. If desired, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over each serving. Cover tightly and refrigerate leftovers. After soup has settled overnight, it may seem a bit too thick; just add a little 1% milk or chicken broth to thin.

Makes six ¾ cup servings or about 5 cups of soup
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 366 Calories; 32g Fat; 15g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber

The only tweak I would make to this recipe is: with the whole pound (5 links) of hot Italian sausage, this soup was a little too SPICY for me....it made my eyes water and made me sweat (@Mister D says I'm a wuss!) I think next time I may try it with 2 links of mild and 3 links of hot sausage.

[Mister D]

You are a wuss! That's stuff is not hot. :rollseyes:

Sounds good but I would replace the sausage with grass fed beef.

[oceanloverOH]

You are a wuss! That's stuff is not hot. :rollseyes:

Sounds good but I would replace the sausage with grass fed beef.

Sounds good....but if you used beef, you would definitely want to add quite a bit of dried hot red pepper flakes.....the spiciness is what "makes" this soup!

[Mister D]

Sounds good....but if you used beef, you would definitely want to add quite a bit of dried hot red pepper flakes.....the spiciness is what "makes" this soup!

I routinely add fresh chilis. I usually use two habaneros for the real heat with some jalapenos and poblanos for flavor.

[Mister D]

You are a wuss! That's stuff is not hot. :rollseyes:

Sounds good but I would replace the sausage with grass fed beef.

But that's only because I don't like sausage.

[jillian]

I've been working for awhile on developing a copycat recipe for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. I've *almost* got it right, I think....this last batch was excellent, so I thought I'd share.......

Zuppa Toscana
(Olive Garden copycat recipe)

1 pound hot Italian sausage (I use the big links in casings, about 5 links to a pound)
1 med onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 32-oz carton plus 1 14-oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth
4-6 med redskin potatoes (about ½ - ¾ lb)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1-1½ cups (about two large branches) fresh kale
1-1½ cups half and half
1 pat of butter (optional)
Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Remove the sausage from its casings. Break up and brown the sausage in a 4-quart soup pot along with the onion and garlic; drain fat and return meat to soup pot. Scrub potatoes but don't peel them. Slice in half lengthwise, then in ¼ inch slices. Add broth, potatoes and pepper to cooked sausage. Reduce heat to low, cover (tilted) and simmer 30 minutes. Wash two large fresh kale branches. Cut curly leaves from central woody stalk; discard stalk. Tear curly leaves into medium-sized pieces. Add the kale and half and half; simmer a few minutes until heated through and kale is somewhat limp but still semi-crisp. Stir in butter (optional) and serve. If desired, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over each serving. Cover tightly and refrigerate leftovers. After soup has settled overnight, it may seem a bit too thick; just add a little 1% milk or chicken broth to thin.

Makes six ¾ cup servings or about 5 cups of soup
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 366 Calories; 32g Fat; 15g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber

The only tweak I would make to this recipe is: with the whole pound (5 links) of hot Italian sausage, this soup was a little too SPICY for me....it made my eyes water and made me sweat (@Mister D says I'm a wuss!) I think next time I may try it with 2 links of mild and 3 links of hot sausage.

cool...

just thought you'd want to know there's a site called restaurant.food.com and you can look up things like that...

you can see how yours compares with this one

http://restaurant.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-copycat-zuppa-toscana-38298

this one is from cooks. com

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/7y3e777t/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana.html

and copycat.com

http://www.copykat.com/2009/03/29/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-ii/

i haven't tried the respective sites, but i figure it might help if there's anything else you feel like working on. :)

[Common]

My mother used to make a soup close to that, used Sausage but sliced thin and round and browned, escarole, chicken broth, pastina and some other stuff I LOVED IT.

[oceanloverOH]

cool...

just thought you'd want to know there's a site called restaurant.food.com and you can look up things like that...

you can see how yours compares with this one

http://restaurant.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-copycat-zuppa-toscana-38298

this one is from cooks. com

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/7y3e777t/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana.html

and copycat.com

http://www.copykat.com/2009/03/29/olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-ii/

i haven't tried the respective sites, but i figure it might help if there's anything else you feel like working on. :)

LOL, I actually did go to all of those sites, jillian! Especially when trying to duplicate something from a restaurant......I routinely take a little from this recipe and a little from that recipe, and read all the reviews from people who've tried the recipe when I'm working on one. Thanks, though!

[oceanloverOH]

My mother used to make a soup close to that, used Sausage but sliced thin and round and browned, escarole, chicken broth, pastina and some other stuff I LOVED IT.

Well, give this one a try and adapt it to what you remember from Mom's!

[jillian]

LOL, I actually did go to all of those sites, @jillian (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=719)! Especially when trying to duplicate something from a restaurant......I routinely take a little from this recipe and a little from that recipe, and read all the reviews from people who've tried the recipe when I'm working on one. Thanks, though!

lol.. fair enough! didn't know if you knew about them. :)

good luck with the recipe!

[oceanloverOH]

Bump

[strollingbonez]

o what an ego...bumping your own thread?


4 carbs is all? hmmm and why grass fed beef...i dont care for the taste of it...i can go the ground stuff okay but the steaks....


do yall watch that pioneer women on the cooking channel...she did a carrot soup...easy peasy

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/carrot-thyme-soup-with-cream/

[Mister D]

I was thinking minestrone this weekend. :undecided:

[strollingbonez]

i am just not much of a soup person...rarely have it...childhood trauma and all that

[Mister D]

I'm partial to them myself. I eat soup and stew year round.

[strollingbonez]

yea you were being weird in another thread....about your love of da soup

[oceanloverOH]

Mister D and I both love soups and stews and have swapped several recipes. The blending of tastes/textures is wonderful; soup is usually low-carb, and very economical to make. What's weird about that?

And I bumped it just for YOU, Bonez.........

[strollingbonez]

now much for stews either...i just dont care for the food blend stuff...and dont get me started on casseroles....lol...

[Mister D]

I used think casseroles were unexciting until I tried crawfish casserole at my brother's in LA. To die for. Literally considering how much butter was in it. Delicious though. My sister in law's mother made seafood gumbo and crawfish casserole the traditoinal way. Yummy. :smiley: I ate it all week.

[Mister D]

yea you were being weird in another thread....about your love of da soup

Da soup can't be beat. Healthy, economical, and tasty. How can yuo go wrong?

[nic34]

Yeah, cheating... but I learned a similar recipe for this soup when I lived in Couer d'Alene... this one is great.

http://recipes.idahopotato.com/creamy-idaho-potato-and-white-bean-soup/

(A little carby for us these days OL, but still yummy)

[Mister D]

Yeah, cheating... but I learned a similar recipe for this soup when I lived in Couer d'Alene... this one is great.

http://recipes.idahopotato.com/creamy-idaho-potato-and-white-bean-soup/

(A little carby for us these days OL, but still yummy)

Looks good. Perfect for a long run.

[oceanloverOH]

Yeah, cheating... but I learned a similar recipe for this soup when I lived in Couer d'Alene... this one is great.

http://recipes.idahopotato.com/creamy-idaho-potato-and-white-bean-soup/

(A little carby for us these days OL, but still yummy)

Oooo, that looks GOOD, must try; thanks Nic! And not too carby, because of the beans....diabetics get to subtract the fiber from the carbs, because fiber stabilizes blood sugar so effectively. My dietician calls beans "the magic food" for diabetics.