Zuppa Toscana Soup- Using Zesty Italian sausage

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cook time- 40 minutes

We love a good soup in our family! Cold days on the farm become our normal routine in the winter, and few things will hit the spot like a good soup. This is a mixture of recipes actually. It originated as a copy cat recipe from Olive Garden that my sister had at a friend’s house. She changed it a bit to her liking though, and if you know Taylor Bithell, you know she's got to put her spin on EVERYTHING! This is like an extra hearty, comforting, zesty potato soup! So yummy and perfect with crusty bread on a rainy day. We love using Barrier Farms(obviously, who are we kidding here??) Zesty Italian Sausage and Barrier Farms Chicken Bone Broth. It’s really special when you keep raising, growing, and producing more and more of your own food! 

I also want to mention that this is very kid friendly. Probably as many of you know if you follow us on Instagram, we shoot these little “cooking days” at my sister’s house where she is my very cheap(she works for lunch) photographer. With 3 nieces and nephews under foot, believe us when we say that recipes we post are very kid friendly…both easy and quick to make, as well as kid approved in taste. My niece, Darcey, ate 2 bowls of her own, and then promptly came to sit in my lap and finish my bowl! My husband, Levi(the Farmer), also prefers this soup over plain potato soup since it has way more body to it. Have we convinced you to try it yet? We hope so! Lets get started!

4 golden potatoes, peeled and diced

1 can cannellini  beans

6 pieces of bacon

3 C chopped kale

1 lb zesty Barrier Farms Italian sausage 

1 1/2 C Barrier Farms chicken bone broth

1 1/2 C of half and half

3 TBLS corn starch

2 TBLS minced garlic 

1 tsp black pepper

1 chopped onion OR onion powder

Salt to taste

Begin by peeling and dicing the potatoes and bring to a boil in a pot with the chicken broth and some water if needed(potatoes should be covered). Add garlic, onion powder(if using powder instead of onion) and pepper to cooked potatoes. Once the potatoes are cooked through, you can add the rest of the ingredients.

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the sausage in a pan(add chopped onion here if you're using a whole onion instead  of powder) and fry or bake the bacon and chop it up. Add both meats and the beans to the potatoes once they are done.

Add the corn starch to your COLD half and half and whisk well! Once mixed together really well, add the half and half mixture and the kale to the soup and stir. Let it simmer till the soup thickens up. Salt to taste! Honestly, we don't add much salt since we use Barrier Farms sausage because it’s salted and seasoned really well! It will depend on what kind you use but definitely add salt in last so you don't end up with salty soup…not appealing! We are done folks-so simple, so hearty, perfect for a cold day…or honestly any day! Top with Italian cheese and enjoy!

Rainy day meal?

Check!

Plus, everything is better with Coke!