Zuppa Toscana

The way we discovered this recipe is a pretty entertaining story.  Jeremy was working on his masters thesis on edible landscapes.   When talking over wintertime possibilities with his instructor Jeremy said, “Kale grows in the winter.”

His adviser replied, “Yeah but no one actually eats kale Jeremy!”

He took that as a personal challenge and we discovered how to eat kale.  He ended up taking the soup to his next committee meeting and his adviser stood deliciously surprised and corrected!  This recipe has been a favorite seasonal winter recipe for us since then.

 

Zuppa Toscana Recipe:

1 lb Italian sausage

4 slices uncured bacon

1 onion, diced

4 cups chicken stock

4 med. potatoes, diced

1 small bunch kale, chopped into half-dollar-sized pieces (4 cups)

1 cup cream

 

In a soup pot cook the sausage. Meanwhile cook the bacon in another pan.  (I do this to save time–if you want to save dishes do it one after another in the same pan as the sausage.)Remove the sausage from the pot and all but about 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat (from the sausage or the bacon).   Saute the onions until translucent.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes and simmer 15-20 or until the potatoes are soft.  Add kale and cook three to five minutes until the kale is bright green and tender to your tastes.  Add the cream and stir to combine.

Serve with a crack of freshly ground pepper.