Zuppa Toscana (Hearty creamy soup with sausage)
Quick answer
Zuppa Toscana is a warm Italian style soup featuring seasoned sausage, potatoes, and kale in a creamy broth.
What makes this special
- Spicy Italian sausage, tender potatoes, and fresh kale simmer in a rich, creamy broth for this Zuppa Toscana.
- Browning sausage first builds the fat base for sweating the onion
- Slicing potato above 0.5cm keeps chunks intact through 12 minutes of simmering
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Slice the 350 g potatoes at least 0.5 cm thick so they hold their shape.
- 2 Heat a pot over medium heat, add the 300 g Italian sausage, and break it int...
- 3 Add the onion to the sausage fat left in the same pot and sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
Zuppa Toscana is a warm Italian style soup featuring seasoned sausage, potatoes, and kale in a creamy broth. The cooking starts by browning the Italian sausage to render its flavorful fat, which is then used to sauté the minced garlic and chopped onion. Slicing the potatoes to a thickness of at least 0.5 centimeters prevents them from disintegrating during the twelve minutes of simmering in chicken stock. Once the potatoes soften, the cooked sausage and kale are incorporated, allowing the greens to wilt without releasing any bitterness. The dish is finished by stirring in heavy cream and black pepper over low heat. Keeping the heat low prevents the cream from splitting, resulting in a cohesive, smooth broth that pairs well with the textured ingredients.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Slice the 350 g potatoes at least 0.5 cm thick so they hold their shape.
Finely chop the 120 g onion, mince the 3 garlic cloves, and cut the 120 g kale into bite-size pieces.
- 2Finish
Heat a pot over medium heat, add the 300 g Italian sausage, and break it into small crumbles with a spatula.
Cook for about 5 minutes, until browned and the seasoned fat collects in the pot, then lift it out and reserve.
- 3Control
Add the onion to the sausage fat left in the same pot and sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
When the onion looks translucent, stir in the garlic for only 30 seconds so it smells fragrant without scorching.
- 4Control
Add the potatoes and 900 ml chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to release the browned flavor.
Once it comes to a boil, lower to medium-low and simmer for 12 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender but not falling apart.
- 5Control
Return the browned sausage to the pot and add the kale, pressing it down so it sits in the broth.
Simmer over medium-low heat for 3 more minutes, until the kale softens slightly and turns a deeper green.
- 6Finish
Reduce the heat to low, stir in 180 ml heavy cream and 0.5 teaspoon black pepper, and warm for 2 minutes.
Do not boil hard, since the cream can split; adjust the seasoning when the edges gently ripple, then serve hot.
After the steps
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