Zuppa Toscana

I made this last Sunday for my friend Kendall’s birthday. She loves kale haha, so we decided this soup would perfect way to end our lazy Sunday. Besides, ever since my Whole Foods Cooking Class I have been wanting to cook kale. I have also been craving soups lately, maybe it’s because the weather is turning cooler. What I love about this recipe is that it has a little cream to give the soup that heartiness but it’s not nearly as heavy as a chowder or chili. Plus, the kale packs tons of good for you vitamins.

You’ll need:

2 cans of chicken broth
1 cup of heavy cream
1 large white onion
3 large cloves of garlic
2 cups chopped fresh kale
1lb spicy sausage (can use Italian instead to lighten the spiciness)
2 large russet potatoes
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Set aside.

Peel the potatoes and rinse any dirt off.

Dice the potatoes into bite size pieces. About an inch cubed.

Wash the kale. Now it’s time to show y’all what I learned at my Whole Foods Cooking Class. Fold the kale leaf in half so that the rib or spine is on one edge.

Now slice the rib off. Once the rib gets pretty thin towards the top of the leaf, you can leave that part.

Since kale is a hearty green, it’s can be cooked down in a soup like this without falling apart like say, spinach.

Chop the kale.

Brown the sausage for 5-7 minutes. Then add the onions and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Now, add the garlic and red pepper. Stir in for about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, bring potatoes, kale, 2 cans of chicken broth and 2 cans of water to a boil.

Once boiling, add sausage, onions, garlic and red pepper.

Mix all together and bring back to a boil.

Reduce to medium heat, cover and cook for 20min.

If you’re like me and don’t have a bunch of fancy kitchenware, then put a pan over your pot to cover.

After 20min, add 1 cup of heavy cream. That blur on the picture is me pouring the cream in.

Stir and serve. It’s delicious and quite a fragrant soup. This will make about 8-10 servings.