I rarely eat at Olive Garden but daughter Megan told me this was a great recipe.  As mentioned in my Roasted Fennel post of last Friday, we garnished the soup with bits of the fennel and loved it. From now on, it will be a traditional side served with the soup, and sliced of hearty Italian bread.

The original recipe called for heavy cream, but we liked the soup without the cream and without the extra fat. Next time I would add chopped carrots and celery.

ZUPPA TOSCANA…COPYCAT OF OLIVE GARDEN RECIPE

1 lb. Italian sausage
2 large russet baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup bacon, chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped
2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 quart water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I omitted)

• Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces.
• Brown sausage in your soup pot.
• Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.
• Place onions, potatoes, and garlic in the pot.
• Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.
• Add bacon.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Turn to low heat.
• Add cream (optional) and heat.
• Tear pieces of kale into bowl and pour steaming soup over the top.

Recipe slightly adapted from Food.com