Zuppa Toscana - Ala Olive Garden, and Bread Bowls

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Homercidal

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Ok. My wife simply loves the Olive Garden, especially the Zuppa Toscana soup. It's basically an Italian Sausage soup with potatoes and some kale and cream. I told her I could make this at home. "Yeah, right.." I get home, load up my browser, and do a search. Tons of links! The first one looked easy, so I tried it and she said it was even better than the Olive Garden.

Here ya go:

1 tube of Italian Sausage (as spicy as you like).
2-3 large russet potatoes, cut as you like them
Couple cloves of Garlic
1 Large Onion
3/4 cup chopped bacon (optional, but necessary)
Large can of Chicken Stock
Bit of Butter
2 cups Kale
1 small carton heavy cream


Brown Sausage in pan, or cook on oven until done.
Melt butter in soup pot, and saute minced garlic and chopped onion.
Add Chicken Stock and potatoes cook until potatoes are tender.
Add bacon, sausage, cream and kale
Cook on low until heated through


Now the bread bowls... I cheat. I use the bread machine to mix the dough. I use the Large French Bread recipe, and "dough only" setting. When the machine beeps, I take out the dough, and cut into 4 sections. Ball it up and let rise on the pizza stone for 45 minutes, or until they have risen. Place in 350 degree oven and bake until golden brown and delicious.

Important! Allow bread to cool a bit before cutting. Carve the top out of the bread and set next to the bread bowl. Fill bread bowl with soup and eat.

I have no idea what kind of beer goes good with this. I just drink whatever I have on hand. It usually goes down good.:mug:
 
I run the kitchen at the OG...we have people that always ask us for the recipe. We keep telling them "its online" no one believes that its the real recipe, just scailed down. We make 20gal at a time.

If you want that true OG, Olive Garden, not Original Gravity, when you saute the sausage mix in crushed red pepper with it, saute that all up then add the garlic and onion.
 
I made this last night. It was excellent. I ate way too much of it though! Thanks for the recipe. (btw, 8 oz heavy cream is right for this recipe - that might be the "small carton" but there is also a quart carton, which would be too much).

I also made sourdough bread from a berliner weisse trub. Great with zuppa! Thanks, Homer.

2011-12-18_at_12_04_25.jpg
 
After I saw this, I decided that it was going to be on the dinner menu tonight. As much as I enjoy making bread, unfortunately there is not enough time this afternoon to get it done, so I am cheating and using sourdough bread bowls from the store. And, of course, my local grocery store was out of kale, so I am substituting baby spinach instead. Will let you know how it turns out.

Thanks for the recipe!

Ryan M.
 
After I saw this, I decided that it was going to be on the dinner menu tonight. As much as I enjoy making bread, unfortunately there is not enough time this afternoon to get it done, so I am cheating and using sourdough bread bowls from the store. And, of course, my local grocery store was out of kale, so I am substituting baby spinach instead. Will let you know how it turns out.

Thanks for the recipe!

Ryan M.

Kale maintains it's shape and some of it's crunchiness when in the soup. Spinach will be flaccid. I'm sure it will still taste great!
 
passedpawn said:
I made this last night. It was excellent. I ate way too much of it though! Thanks for the recipe. (btw, 8 oz heavy cream is right for this recipe - that might be the "small carton" but there is also a quart carton, which would be too much).

I also made sourdough bread from a berliner weisse trub. Great with zuppa! Thanks, Homer.

That does look good, and the recipe looks easy. Did you use Italian sausage in the casing, cut into coins, or loose sausage crumbled?
 
That does look good, and the recipe looks easy. Did you use Italian sausage in the casing, cut into coins, or loose sausage crumbled?

I bought loose ground sausage and browned it in the soup pot as the very first step. I think if you bought cased sausage and cut it up it would be exactly as good. I did a double batch, which was a LOT.

I'm gonna PM Homer, it's his thread, I'd like him to comment.
 
Kale maintains it's shape and some of it's crunchiness when in the soup. Spinach will be flaccid. I'm sure it will still taste great!

I see. I will have to try it with kale in the near future. I am looking forward to cooking this when the SWMBO gets home! BTW, I am using loose, mild ground sausage (I would usually buy spicy, but the crib midget doesn't like anything spicy... yet...).

Excuse me for hijacking a little here, but this post reminded me of this recipe, which I say is one of the best soups I have had to date. Super easy, very good with spicy sausage, and will warm your ass up on a cold evening!

I hope tonight's meal changes my opinion! Thanks Homer!

Ryan M.
 
The only thing I can take credit for is having a wife who LOVES this at OG and bugged me into finding a recipe for it! I just picked one from the internet that looks close and tried it out.

I've used the small carton of cream before, but the last two times I used the medium size, which is 1 pint I think. I also wing it with the rest of the ingredients, and I normally make up 8 cups of stock using bullion since it's cheaper (And I usually forget to have the liquid stock on hand!)

I got to have this twice this weekend. On Friday I brought it to work and everyone loved it. Then on Saturday my wife made me make it for her birthday 2 days early because she couldn't wait!

My family seems to enjoy a good soup now and again with the kids always askign for this or Beef Vegetable, or Split Pea. My young one is making a pretty good chicken noodle, although each time she makes it it's a bit different.

I'm always looking out for a good soup recipe. We all love the potato soup at Benigans, so I might look for a good potato soup like that.

Finally, I like the bread bowls, but it turns out my family would just as soon have the bread on the side, so I don't make them any more. I think sourdough would be awesome with this stuff! I never thought of that.
 
Well, this turned out pretty amazing. I meant to post the picture I took, but forgot before I left for work this afternoon. I had to substitute spinach for the kale, as the grocery store was out of it. It turned out very well. I had it for dinner yesterday, lunch today, and will have some more of it for dinner at work tonight.

I used crumbled sausage, 8 oz of heavy cream, 1.5 of the large "boxes" of chicken broth, and 9 oz of baby spinach. Not too shabby. Didn't peel the potatoes, just halved them and cut them into 3/8 inch thick slices. Also added the bacon, I don't think it is an optional ingredient, but to each their own.

I cooked everything in the same pan, bacon and sausage, then drained the grease, added a pat of butter, and sauteed the veggies/carried on from there.

Very good Homer! Thanks for posting your found recipe here!

Ryan M.
 
Bump.

Made this for work again 2 weeks ago and several people wanted the recipe. I thought soup season was starting up again and this time I'm working on a nice chicken and wild rice soup, plus a couple of other ideas I haven't had a chance to try yet.

Until then, give this Olive Garden inspired Tuscan Wedding Soup a try!
 
Bump.

Made this for work again 2 weeks ago and several people wanted the recipe. I thought soup season was starting up again and this time I'm working on a nice chicken and wild rice soup, plus a couple of other ideas I haven't had a chance to try yet.

Until then, give this Olive Garden inspired Tuscan Wedding Soup a try!

I've made this twice since my last post here. So good.

BTW, we make two turkeys at thanksgiving, and much of one of them goes into a turkey & rice soup. So if you work on a chicken/rice, you might use it after thanksgiving too with leftovers.
 
I've made this twice since my last post here. So good.

BTW, we make two turkeys at thanksgiving, and much of one of them goes into a turkey & rice soup. So if you work on a chicken/rice, you might use it after thanksgiving too with leftovers.

I'd be wanting that recipe, if you have a mind to share! The last one I made was good, but pretty thick. We always have a lot of meat left on the carcass after a Turkey dinner, and I'm sure the wife would prefer that soup over sandwiches. Or in addition to, depending on how much is left over.
 
Can I just remind everyone that pawn said "flaccid" hehehehehehehehehehe.

Soup looks great, when I go to OG I always order it. With the weather getting colder the urge to make soups and stews is going to increase exponentially.
 
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