Thursday, January 17, 2008

.tuscano soup.

You're probably asking, "What is tuscano soup?" It's a soup offered at Olive Garden and if you've ever had a chance to try this soup there, you know you're in for a treat. It's essentially a potato and sausage soup that is FABULOUS. This recipe is my adaptation, which I enjoy a lot more than theirs. I used to make tuscano soup at the bakery and it was talked about all over town. Everyone LOVED it. I'm sure you will too.

Begin by peeling 5-6 yukon gold potatoes. Cut in half and then slice. Set aside.

Dice one medium onion and finely mince a clove or two of garlic. Set aside.

I use two different types of italian sausage. This soup is supposed to have a little kick to it. Since I have a child in this house who can't tolerate spicy food, I use 3 of the mild sausage links, and 2 of the hot. If you want mild soup, use only mild. If you like it spicy, use all the hot. At your house, you can make it any way you want!


Cut off the tube casing and break the sausage apart. Put in a stock pot and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cook over medium high heat.

When the sausage is halfway cooked, add the onion, garlic, and potatoes. Cook until the edges of the potatoes become translucent.


Add 3 cans chicken broth and 2 cans beef broth. I use a combo to give the soup a richer flavor. At this time, put in 1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach. Olive Garden uses kale, but since I have a tough time finding kale, I use spinach. And in fact, I actually prefer spinach! Don't worry about thawing and draining. Just dump it right on in. Reduce heat and cover with a lid. Let simmer 20-30 minutes. When potatoes are fork tender this is ready to serve!

If you're not scared off by spicy food and if you want to, as Emeril would say, "kick this up another notch"... then add some dashes of crushed red pepper flakes to the pot. If you have kids in the house (like I do), then add the flakes to your own bowl and not the entire pot.

Ladle soup into a bowl, filling it 3/4 of the way up. Add a little half and half and spoon in some freshly grated parmesan cheese. I add the half and half into each bowl individually instead of the entire pot so it doesn't curdle. That's a bad thing. It also helps cool this soup down so you don't burn your tongue. ;)

Voila! Tuscano Soup Suzanne style. Enjoy!

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_12qqbdxg

12 comments:

Janna said...

oh.my.gosh. i can't believe i was so lucky to stumble upon your blog!! funny thing is is that we were at olive garden just this weekend for the first time in five years and i had this soup... and my daughter loved it so i wondered how i could get the recipe... lol... it must be fate! also, those oatmeal buns look to DIE for and i think it will be my very first attempt at anything with yeast (lol) as you make it LOOK so easy... can't wait to try out the chicken recipe too... thanks SO much! thanks for sharing such wonderful inspiration! you now have a regular blog stalker!

regards,

janna

Anonymous said...

This looks so delicious! They serve this from time to time in our cafeteria at work and it is sooo yummy. I am bookmarking this one for sure. =)

Anonymous said...

I just made this soup this week, except I do use the kale. We love this soup. I like your tip of adding the half and half to each bowl.

Argenta said...

Holy freaking crap this is good soup!

I think I may have just found my new favorite soup recipe.

Carla (BF)

Anonymous said...

I made this last night and it was absolutely 'FABULOUS'!!! This soup is my husbands very favorite he definitely agreed it was better than Olive Gardens...So easy to make. It will definitely be a keeper at my house.

Anonymous said...

I've had this at OG since I made it the first time and the OG version pales in comparison. Just finished a double batch to freeze for lunches.

Thank you,. squillen for posting this..I love it!

fuggles said...

Suzanne, this soup is fantastic. It's easy to make but the results are amazing. I will definitely make this again and again.
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

Anonymous said...

Debbie
I just made this soup and tasted it---WONDERFUL. AWESOME

LUCYG said...

yep, really wonderful ... thank you so much. My sister tasted it and now I am linking her to the recipe so she can make it, too. You are a genius!

Anonymous said...

Great recipe...and easy to make! I took some into work today, and they loved it as well. Thanks!

Dana

Nessa said...

OMG, I just made this today because I absoluteY LOVE the tuscano soup at Olive Garden. This is actually even better IMO!! My whole family gobbled it up, including my 6 and 4 year old!

Linda said...

Sounds wonderful!