The Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Recipe

Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden is one of my favorites dishes. I enjoy preparing it fresh with Italian sausage and thick cut bacon, sliced potato and yummy green, vitamin C-rich kale.

First I cooked the sausage, drained it and set it aside. In a large stock pot I cooked the bacon until it was crisp. I removed the bacon from the pot. 

In the bacon fat I sauteed the chopped onion, garlic, and sliced potato, sliced lengthwise down the middle and then with the cut side down on the cutting board I sliced half moon slices. I sauteed the onion, garlic, and potato for about 5 minutes until the potatoes were starting to become translucent. 

Then I combined the cooked bacon, sausage, chicken broth, crushed red pepper and Italian seaoning. I brought the soup to a boil and then turned the fire down low. I let the soup simmer until the potatoes were cooked through. After 12-15 minutes I added the chopped kale and stirred in the heavy whipping cream. As always I added a dash of the wonder spice turmeric. 

Turmeric is an antioxidant, has anti-inflammatory qualities, reduces the risk of blood clots, slows the progression of Alzheimer's, is a natural painkiller, is beneficial to skin health, and is used as a cancer fighter.* That sounds wonderful to me! I use turmeric in just about everything that I cook.

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups of chopped kale

*Source: Top 7 Amazing Health Benefits of Turmeric

by Michelle Brown