Does anyone else have fond childhood memories that took place around a huge round table at Olive Garden? For my family, Olive Garden was the place we often went to celebrate a birthday or event, or every once in a while where we might go for lunch after church on Sunday. We didn’t go out to eat much, but Olive Garden had a lunch soup & salad special, and my Dad and I both had a deep fondness for their classic Zuppa Toscana!
When I became the head chef in our home after getting married, I tried my best to recreate some of my favorite dishes from childhood in my kitchen. I learned to make Zuppa Toscana with broth from a cardboard shelf-stable box and a package of Italian sausage. As our homestead aspirations grew, and the ingredients we grew ourselves began to multiply, I found ways to fine-tune my recipe and make it more suited to our desire to make wholesome and nourishing homegrown food from scratch.
These days I have a homestead version of Zuppa Toscana I love to make. It is my daughter Charlotte’s favorite soup, and while she has never sat around the large round tables at olive garden, she has shared a bowl beside me and my Dad at home, made with bone broth made from the carcasses of our homegrown chickens, homegrown pork sausage and bacon, and paired with fresh sourdough and fine aged parmesan made from our homegrown goats milk, and topped with greens fresh from the garden. I don’t think it really gets much better than that.
We’re going to start this recipe by cooking up the bacon, frying it in a pan until it’s extra crispy. Roughly chop the bacon and set it aside for later, reserving the grease. In the same pan that we fried the bacon, add in a sliced onion and the minced garlic. Saute until the onion has softened and starts to become translucent, and your kitchen starts to smell heavenly! Stir in the ground sausage, cooking it evenly until browned through and crumbly. If you are adding in the liver, now is the time! I love to add an extra boost of this nutrient-dense superfood to any recipe I can, particularly meals where the ground meat is heavily seasoned and the liver is undetectable! To mix it in, I puree a few tablespoons worth of liver in my food processor, and stir it in with the ground sausage as I am browning it. If you don’t have Italian sausage, but you do have ground pork or lamb, just add a couple extra teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Before we butchered our pigs, I liked to use ground lamb in this recipe, as it was a fully grass-fed option I could find in my grocery store.
Grass-fed beef or chicken liver is the most nutrient-dense food on the planet. It’s particularly high in bioavailable vitamin A and vitamin B12, folate, iron, and copper. Just one serving of liver can meet your daily recommended amounts of each of these vitamins and minerals!
While the meat, onion, liver combination is cooking, begin slicing your potatoes. I prefer to use russet potatoes that are well-scrubbed but have the skin left on, just like the Olive Garden version of this soup. Slice the potatoes into thin rounds and add to the meat mixture, stirring in some dried oregano, basil, and thyme, and a teaspoon of a good quality salt and a couple cracks of fresh ground pepper. If you were sautéing the sausage and onions in a frying pan, pour the whole mix into a stockpot.
Now add in your broth. Hopefully you have a good quality bone broth in the pantry or some fresh homemade broth. This soup can be a nourishing powerhouse with quality fats, meat, and jiggly bone broth!
The amount of broth you need may vary slightly. I shoot to cover the meat and potatoes, without totally drowning them. Remember that the potatoes will soften and break down a bit, and that we will be adding in milk or cream at the end!
Add in the chopped bacon and allow the soup to simmer on medium-low heat for about fifteen minutes, or until the potatoes have softened, but aren’t so mushy that they are starting to disintegrate. Be sure to stir gently. The potatoes tend to fall apart fairly easily and I find this soup even more satisfying when there’s still some larger potato medallions in my bowl!
Stir in a cup of either whole milk, half-n-half, or heavy whipping cream. My kids can’t digest cows milk products, so I typically make this soup with our goats milk at home. However, I like to add a good splash of heavy cream to my own bowl, and I definitely think this soup tastes best when it’s made with cream instead of milk. Either way is delicious, so do what suits your family!
At this point I like to taste test the soup and adjust any seasonings as needed. If the soup tastes a little bland, throw in some more salt. This soup should be vibrant and well-seasoned, so make sure to add more salt, pepper, or herbs as needed to get it just right before serving.
Next, chop up one bunch of kale. Discard the stems (perfect for adding into future batches of broth, or for feeding your pigs or chickens or goats!), and stir the chopped leaves into the soup. Let it sit for a few minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the kale to slightly soften. It will turn a bright green when it’s the perfect texture, and the soup should be a beautiful cream-color, with swirls of oil dotting the surface.
And that’s it! Your very own homestead-style Zuppa Toscana, nutrient-rich and nourishing and the perfect meal for chilly winter days. Serve your family a bowl of Zuppa topped with crushed red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese. Like most soups, this one pairs perfectly with a loaf of fresh bread, and maybe an Italian-style salad too. Now all you need is a big round table!
Here’s how to make your own nourishing Zuppa Toscana at home!
Nourishing Zuppa Toscana Soup (with liver)
Ingredients
- 8 oz bacon, fried until crispy, then chopped and set aside
- 1 large yellow or white onion sliced into thin, long strips
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb Italian ground sausage or a pound of ground pork (or even lamb), mixed with Italian spices
- 2 lbs russet potatoes scrubbed and skin left on, sliced into thin medallions
- 1 tsp good salt
- ½ tsp each of dried oregano, basil, and thyme
- 4-6 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk, fresh cream, or half-n-half I use our fresh goats milk
- A generous handful chopped kale, stems discarded
- Shredded parmesan and red chili flakes optional for garnish
- A small amount of pureed or ground liver, optional add-in with the sausage for additional health benefits!
Instructions
- Fry up your bacon until nice and crispy. Cool and chop and set it aside, reserving the grease in the pan.
- Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon grease until fragrant and translucent. Add in the sausage and cook until crumbly and browned. If you are including the liver, stir it in with the meat. If you are using unseasoned ground meat, sprinkle liberally with about 1 Tbs Italian seasonings.
- Add in the thinly sliced potatoes, and saute for a minute or two, seasoning with salt and pepper and the dried herbs.
- Pour in the chicken broth, enough to cover all the potatoes and sausage, keeping in mind that the potatoes will soften and break down a bit, and that you will be adding in the cream at the end.
- Stir in the chopped bacon. Let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are soft, but not mushy. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Add in the cream or milk. This soup is tastiest with cream, but whole milk is a great alternative too. The soup should be cream colored, with swirls of oil and seasonings dotting the surface.
- Chop up a generous handful of kale, discarding the stems (won’t the chickens or pigs love those!) and stir them in, letting them cook a minute or two until they are bright green.
- Remove the soup from the burner and let the flavors meld together a few minutes before serving.
- Top with freshly shredded parmesam or romano, and sprinkle red chili flakes on top if so desired.
