ZUPPA TOSCANA

Every year, around this time in October, my girlfriends and I pack it up and head to the beach for a long weekend of chillaxing.  We spend our days cozied up at the beach house, chit chattin' and cooking up a storm. At night, we head into the small town of Ocean Shores, to stir up a bit o’ trouble. If you’ve ever been to Ocean Shores, you get my humor.

I always look forward to the night when Carrie cooks – she makes the BOMB Zuppa Toscana.  Realizing it was pretty darn close to being Paleo, it inspired me to make a few tweaks and add it to my Paleo recipe collection.  Talk about flavor to savor – this recipe is most definitely a keeper!!

GROCERY LIST

2 lbs. Italian Sausage
2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
4 strips of Bacon, sliced (I like to take kitchen shears and cut ½ inch wide strips)
2 cups Broccoli Florets
1 cup Mushrooms, chopped into large chunks
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Kabocha Squash, deseeded & cubed, leave skin on
6 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
1 cup White Wine, preferably sweet
9 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup Heavy Cream
Kale, chopped

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In a large soup pot, brown sausage and crushed red pepper over medium-high heat.  Cook all the way through (about 10 minutes), breaking up the meat into bite sized pieces.  Remove from soup pot and drain meat of fat.  Set meat aside for later use.

In the same soup pot, over medium heat, brown bacon for 3 minutes.  Add squash, broccoli (not pictured), mushroom, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.  Sauté 5-7 minutes, stirring quite frequently.

 

Add wine; simmer for 1 minute to insure all alcohol is cooked out.

 

Add chicken broth and cooked sausage; bring to a boil for 3 minutes.

 

Remove soup pot from heat and stir in heavy cream.

To serve, lay a handful of chopped kale in a large soup bowl. Spoon Zuppa Toscana over kale and let rest 2 minutes, until the kale softens.   

This is absolutely my new favorite soup.  So much love and flavor goes into this dish.  Not to mention, ample vegetables filled with mega vitamins and minerals to keep you nice and healthy during cold and flu season.  Paleo goodness.  Mmm, Mmm, Good.

From my kitchen, to yours…. Enjoy!