Zuppa Toscana (Copycat)

This is not a soup Mom made, but it is one I loved at a popular Italian restaurant. It goes great with Italian salad and garlic breadsticks.

Ingredients

‍  1 lb ground spicy Italian sausage (mild can be substituted)

‍   8 slices bacon, diced

‍   1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

‍   2 cloves garlic, minced

‍   2 Tbsp flour (cornstarch can be substituted)

‍   32 oz chicken stock

‍   3 large russet potatoes (6 cups), peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces

‍   1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

‍   1/2 bunch kale (a couple of handfuls) de-stemmed and torn into bite sized pieces

‍   Salt and pepper, to taste

‍   Pinch of red pepper flakes. optional

Directions

• 1. Heat a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot over MED-HIGH heat. Add a small drizzle of oil, then brown sausage, crumbling as it cooks. Drain well, then remove to a plate.
• 2. Fry bacon in residual sausage grease until crisp, then remove to plate with the sausage. Drain all but 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp of bacon grease.
• 3. Add onion to pot and cook 5 minutes, adding garlic the last minute.
• 4. Sprinkle flour over onion and garlic in pot, then stir to combine. Pour in chicken stock, stirring as you pour. Add in potatoes and bring to a boil.
• 5. Turn heat to medium and cover pot. Gently boil about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add in cooked sausage, bacon, heavy cream, and kale. Stir and cook 5-10 minutes until kale is wilted.
• 6. Taste and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if desired. Serve hot. Goes great with Italian breadsticks and salad.