Zuppa Toscana

I found this recipe on Pinterest, of course :) And that lead me to annies-eats.net, which is full of fantastic recipes, including her version of the popular Olive Garden soup, Zuppa Toscana.  This tastes remarkably similar to Olive Gardens, but probably even better!  Please do try this for yourself sometime, we give it four thumbs up!

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian sausage (we used turkey sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine to deglaze the pan
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
2 russett potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2 cups fresh kale, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2.5 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat.  Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until well browned.  Remove the cooked sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl; set aside.  

Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant.  Add the wine to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.  

Add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water to the pot.   Return the sausage to the pot.  

Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer on medium-low.  

Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and cooked through.  **Important step (added by me): Pour yourself a glass of white wine.

Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

I had this really awesome picture of the finished product in my bowl, ready to be devoured, but I accidentally deleted it.  So this last picture doesn't really do it justice, but just trust me when I saw it was FanTasTic! :)