An easy and tasty soup with Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes and kale!
With all of the cold winter weather that we have been having I have been thinking about and making a lot of soups! The soup that I am currently into is this zuppa toscana which is an Italian soup typically made with bacon, celery, carrots, onion, kale, zucchini, cannellini beans and potatoes and the popular Olive Garden version includes sausage! Not only is this is my favourite zuppa toscana recipe but it’s also my current favourite soup recipe! It takes a bit of time to make since you have to cook the bacon, followed by the sausage followed by the veggies and then add the broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender but it’s all straight forward and super easy. I like to finish the soup off with parmesan which I melt right into the broth, along with a splash of lemon juice and parsley which add a nice hit of freshness. Another great was to kick up the flavour is to add some white miso paste which I normally do. I like to make big batches of this tasty zuppa toscana to have leftovers for easy meals during the week and it also freezes well for later!
Zuppa Toscana
Prep Time:15 minutes Cook Time:45 minutes Total Time:1 hour Servings: 8
An easy and tasty soup with Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes and kale!
ingredients
- 6 sliced bacon (or pancetta), diced
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound potato, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 cups kale, shredded
- 1 pound zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
directions
- Cook the bacon in a large saucepan before setting it aside on paper towels to drain while reserving the bacon grease in the pan.
- Cook the sausage in the same pan, breaking it apart into bite sized pieces as it cooks, before setting aside.
- Add the onions, carrot and celery and cook over medium-high heat until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the ground fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth and deglaze the the pan by scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as the broth sizzles.
- Add the sausage, potatoes and beans, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to get a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the kale, zucchini, parmesan and cream and cook until the zucchini and kale are tender and the cheese has melted into the soup, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in the lemon juice and parsley and enjoy topped with the crumbled bacon!
Option: Massage the kale to make it more tender!
Option: Add 2 tablespoons white miso paste!
Option: Add 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained.
