Zuppa Toscana copycat Olive Garden recipe lower fat

Zuppa Toscana copycat soup
 with homemade breadsticks

If you have ever had Olive Garden's soup, salad and breadsticks for lunch, you may have had zuppa toscana soup.  It's a delicious creamy soup with spicy Italian sausage, kale, potatoes and a whole lot of flavor.

So when a friend posted her favorite copycat recipe for it, I was excited to make it.  However, when I looked at the recipe, it was not even remotely healthy, so I made a few changes to the recipe to make it healthier.  I replaced pork Italian sausage with my favorite chicken Italian sausage.  Then I swapped out heavy cream for milk or half and half.  I used the half and half since I had a lot on hand, but milk would work just fine. 

I find that sometimes chicken or turkey Italian sausage do not have as much flavor as pork Italian sausage and decided that it needed a bit more fennel.  Your sausage may be different and you may or may not want to use the fennel.

Be sure when you make this that you do not overcook the potatoes.  Otherwise they will fall apart.  This was so good that I definitely plan on making it again. 

One other thing; my friend made a version of this where she substituted potatoes for cauliflower.  If you are trying to watch your carbs, this may be a good swap out.  For us, though, potatoes were key.

Let me know how you like this and if you make other changes to the recipe.  Here it is:

Zuppa Toscana (Lower fat copycat of Olive Garden's soup)
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Serves : 6

·       1 tbsp Oil

·       1 lb. hot/spicy Italian sausage – crumbled (I used Sprouts hot Italian chicken sausage)

·       1 medium onion, diced

·       2 garlic cloves – minced

·       1 qt. water

·       1 qt. ium Chicken broth

·       2 large russet potatoes – slice in half lengthwise and then slice into ¼ inch slices

·       3 cups de-stemmed/chopped kale (cut pieces slightly larger than would fit on a spoon)

·       3 oz Smoked Bacon Bits

·       1 cup heavy whipping cream, half and half or milk (I used half and half)

·       2 tbsp all purpose flour, if using half and half or milk

·       1 tsp ground fennel, optional

·       salt and pepper - to taste (heavier on pepper – it doesn’t need much salt because of the bacon) 

1.     If sausage is in a casing, remove casing to crumble. 

2.     Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add sausage and brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you sauté it.  Drain and set aside.  Remove fat from the pan if there is more than a few tablespoons.

3.     Sauté onions in the same pan as the sausage until the onions are translucent.  Add in the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds.’

4.     Place water, broth, and potatoes in the pot.  Simmer over medium high heat until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes – don’t overcook because it will be cooking an additional 10 minutes).

5.     Add sausage. kale and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes. (Skim any fat off the top that you can.)

6.     If using half and half or milk, stir a little into the flour and mix well making sure there are no lumps.  Then add cream, half and half or milk, along with flour mixture, if using, to pot.  Season with salt and pepper  Taste and add ground fennel, if desired.  (ground fennel will add more of a sausage flavor that you may want if you use chicken sausage.)  Heat through bringing to almost a boil if using flour in the soup.. 

 

The best asparagus soup recipe to serve hot or chilled

It is Spring and Spring fruit and veggies are showing up in the grocery store.  Lately, asparagus have been available.  Usually the stalks get trimmed and thrown away, but for some reason when I saw the amount of this delicious vegetable that was going to end up in the trash, I decided to use them.  The first thing that came to mind was a delicious asparagus soup. 

Asparagus soup is a great way to use stringy stalks since the stalks are cooked then pureed.  It is a delightful soup that is delicious both hot and chilled.

 

Sorry, I don't have photos of making this soup, but next time I make it, I will update this post with the details.  The recipe contains enough details for you to make it without problems.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Makes about 8 cups 

• 6 cups  Chicken broth
• 1 ½ lbs Asparagus                  
• 2 tbsp  Butter
• 1 med  Onion, diced
• 2 tbsp  All-purpose Flour
• ½ cup  Half and half
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

1. Add chicken broth to a 4-6 qt stockpot and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat. 

2. Meanwhile wash and trim asparagus.  You will use everything but the tips.  (If you only have the woody ends, that's fine, too.  The soup will still be wonderful.  You may want a few whole asparagus for decoration.)  Cut the stalks in about 2” pieces.   Place all the stalks in the chicken broth.  Cook for about 20 minutes or until the asparagus is soft.  

3. While the asparagus are cooking, dice onion.  Place butter in small frying pan and sauté onions until translucent.  Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook for a minute or two.  The flour should be completely absorbed into the butter/onion mixture.  If it is not, add a little more butter and cook until well incorporated.  Using a whisk, incorporate some of the chicken/asparagus broth to thin out the onion/flour mixture. 

4. You will want to puree the asparagus and onions.  There are several ways to do this:  1) Blender; 2) immersion blender or 3) Vitamix. 

5. If using a blender or Vitamix, remove the asparagus solids from the pan and put in the blender or vitamix.  If there is room, include the onion/flour mixture to remove all lumps.  Whirl until completely smooth.  Be careful not to load the machine more than about ⅓ to ½ full or the hot mixture can explode.  Also hold the lid down using a towel for protection.  Do this in batches until everything is pureed.  Put it back in the pan.  

6. If using an immersion blender, blend right in the pot until the mixture is completely pureed.   

7. Whichever method you use, continue cooking until everything is well combined and begins to boil.  This will thicken the soup.  Add the half and half, then salt and pepper to taste. 

8. Garnish the soup with a few of the asparagus tips that have been cooked.  This is good hot or chilled.   

If you make this soup out of season, it can be quite expensive to make, but in the Spring, asparagus are very affordable.