Sunday, January 17, 2016

Zuppa Toscana

A post...at last!

Wow, I just downloaded a batch of food blog pictures going all the way back to last February! I'm not sure I can remember what all went into those recipes, but I do hope to get a few new recipes up this year (rather than the one per year I've been averaging lately :/). This recipe comes from Budget Bytes, a food blog I like that posts easy, cheap, generally healthy recipes. I have modified the steps a bit, and the amounts, as I find that blogger tends to make her recipes on the smaller side, and we generally like to have left-overs. This soup is SO flavorful; this is quickly becoming one of my favorite cold night soups. This made enough for 5-6 hearty servings.


Ingredients
(Makes 5-6 large servings)
-4 hot Italian sausage links, casings removed (I definitely recommend getting "hot" or "spicy" for the flavor. The cream will help cool the spiciness down)
-6-7 red potatoes, washed and cut into bite size pieces
-one bunch of kale; wash, rip spines out (thanks to Amy for showing me this trick!), and tear into bite size pieces
-2 C cream or half and half
-one onion, diced
-4 cloves garlic, finely diced
-1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
-½ tsp smoked paprika
-4 cups chicken broth
-salt and pepper to taste

Steps
















1. Remove casings from sausages. Add a little EVOO to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausages and cook, breaking into small pieces as they cook.


2. Once sausages are mostly cooked, add in your onion and garlic. 
3.  Add the beans, smoked paprika, chicken broth, and half and half to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a simmer over medium heat.


4. Add your potatoes (cut up into bite sized pieces). Let the pot simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
5. Finally, add your kale and let cook under desired level of wiltiness. I cooked mine for about 5 more minutes.

6. Season with salt and pepper.