Have you ever gone out to eat and had a dish that just stuck with you? I mean, one you couldn’t forget, no matter how hard you tried. This is that dish for me. It’s a soup with spicy Italian sausage, potatoes, and creamy broth. Can I tell you, I loved it and had to recreate it? I changed a couple of things to make it my own, and now Steve and I have it all the time. This is my Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana).
I’m going to start by grabbing a few fresh herbs from my Hanging Herb Garden.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Equipment: 1 (6-quart) Dutch oven, 1 (3-quart) saucepan, potato peeler, 2 medium-size bowls, 1 large bowl, 1 mesh sieve, chef’s knife, cutting board
Ingredients:
2 pounds of sweet Italian sausage, link style, casings removed
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 large red potatoes, parboiled, peeled, and diced (approx. 2-inch dice)
2 tablespoons of fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn, thawed
1 (15-ounce) package of frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed, excess water removed
1 large white onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
6 cups of chicken broth, unsalted
1 cup of heavy cream
Instructions:
Add the potatoes to a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, then drain. Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel and dice the potatoes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
While the potatoes parboil, squeeze the excess water from the spinach and place in a bowl. Next, dice the onion, seed and dice the bell pepper, and mince the garlic. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In another bowl, add the thawed corn.
Next, over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil with the sweet Italian sausage in a heavy-bottomed pot. Using the back of a wooden spoon, break up the sausage. Continue cooking until the sausage is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
Adjust the heat to medium, add the diced onion, bell pepper, minced garlic, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Remove the oregano leaves from their stems, roughly chop them, and set aside.
After the veggies have softened, about 5 minutes, add the fresh oregano and stir to combine.
Add the chicken broth and thawed corn kernels. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. At this point, I like to use a large spoon to skim off any excess fat that may have accumulated on top.
After 30 minutes, add the diced potatoes, heavy cream, and spinach. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Turn off the heat; the soup’s ready.
I like to ladle a good helping of my Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana) into a porcelain soup bowl and top with my Homemade Ciabatta Croutons.
There you have it, my Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana).
Note:
1) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value matter to you, I recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and values can vary, depending on the brands you choose.
Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana)
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven 6-quart
- 1 saucepan 3-quart
- 1 potato peeler
- 1 mixing bowls Medium size
- 1 mixing bowl Large
- 1 mesh sieve
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage Link style, casings removed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large red potatoes Parboiled, peeled, and diced (approx. 2-inch dice)
- 2 tbsps fresh oregano leaves Roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn Thawed
- 1 15-ounce package frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed Thawed, excess water removed
- 1 large white onion Diced
- 1 large red bell pepper Seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic Minced
- 2 1/2 tbsps kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly ground
- 6 cups chicken broth Unsalted
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, then drain. Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel and dice the potatoes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.While the potatoes parboil, squeeze the excess water from the spinach and place in a bowl. Next, dice the onion, seed and dice the bell pepper, and mince the garlic. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In another bowl, add the thawed corn.Next, over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil with the sweet Italian sausage in a heavy-bottomed pot. Using the back of a wooden spoon, break up the sausage. Continue cooking until the sausage is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.Adjust the heat to medium, add the diced onion, bell pepper, minced garlic, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Remove the oregano leaves from their stems, roughly chop them, and set aside.After the veggies have softened, about 5 minutes, add the fresh oregano and stir to combine.Add the chicken broth and thawed corn kernels. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. At this point, I like to use a large spoon to skim off any excess fat that may have accumulated on top.After 30 minutes, add the diced potatoes, heavy cream, and spinach. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Turn off the heat; the soup's ready.I like to ladle a good helping of my Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana) into a porcelain soup bowl and top with my Homemade Ciabatta Croutons.There you have it, my Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Toscana).
Notes
https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2015/11/02/homemade-ciabatta-croutons/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/11/updated-tuscan-soup-with-parmesan-croutons/
