Pass-ay zee garleec-ay!  (That is meant to sound Italian but during editing I realized it appeared to be some kind of Italian/Pig Latin hybrid…you know…the other romance language.  Get it?  Leave a comment if you get it.)

For you non-linguistically gifted folks, I said “Pass the garlic!” because today on The Suburban Life I am featuring a delicious garlic-y, cream-y, sausage-y, potatoe-y, kale-y soup.  Zuppa Toscana is a favorite of mine when we Garden among the Olives so I decided to give a home rendition a try.  Along with some great tips from a good friend and fantabulous cook, Antoinette, I created the following recipe.  Hope you enjoy!

Zuppa Toscana (Sausage, Potatoes and Kale Soup)

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 3 slices bacon, sliced
• 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
• 1 qt chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 5 golden potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh kale, chopped
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook bacon in soup pan until crisp and add onion and garlic; saute until onion is transluscent.
2. Add Italian sausage to pan, crumble and brown; drain off fat.
3. Add chicken broth, water and potatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add kale and evaporated milk and simmer another 15 minutes until heated through.  This soup does great simmering at a low heat with an occasional stir until ready to serve.

Additional notes:

This can be as mild or spicy as your family can tolerate.  We like things a little spicy around here…I mean, who doesn’t, amirite?  Anyone?  Anyhoo, throw in some red pepper flakes to kick up the heat!

Throw on some freshly grated Parmesan cheese for a bit of a different flavor!

And obvs, drink with some good wine. Or cheap wine.  Or middle-of-the-road wine.  Or free wine.  Whatevs.

***********************

We served this tasty soup with some easy-peasy-soft-and-squeezy breadsticks I found on the Interweb at the blog, Full Bellies, Happy Kids.  The recipe is linked here.

Happy cooking!

Mindy