Tuscan Soup

Welcome back! 

Today, we have a delicious soup originating from Tuscany, Italy (this is the region where Florence is in). Traditionally, this dish is a combination of various vegetables with some Italian bacon and Tuscan bread. The one we made is more Americanized, featuring Italian sausage, and it's a little heartier. However, they are still pretty similar in the vegetables used: kale, potatoes, carrots, etc. 

Tuscan Soup

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 to 10 ounces Italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 to 2 cups half & half
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1/2 bunch kale, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Steam the potato and carrot and save it for later.
2. With the olive oil in a pot, cook the Italian sausage until browned. 
3. Remove the sausage from the pot. Saute the onion and garlic in the pot.
4. Add the flour into the pot and mix.
5. Add in the chicken broth and put in the sausage again.
6. Add in the steamed potatoes and carrots.
7. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
8. Add in the kale and cook until cooked to your desired consistency.
9. Add the half & half. You can use milk to make it lighter or heavy cream to make it richer.
10. Add in the salt and pepper to taste.

Honestly, there's a lot in this soup, so much to the point where it's almost a stew: it's got meat, starch, and vegetables all in one. Plus, it's hot and easy to eat, so it makes for a good, comforting dish, especially when it's cold outside. 

Goes great with breadsticks!

Just to clarify, there are actually many different kinds of Tuscan soups: if you look on the Internet, you'll notice that there are many different colors, ranging from whiter to redder. That all varies on the type of soup base, like if you add tomato paste (which is often done), it will be redder, obviously.

-Chefpo