Zuppa Toscana

I had been to Olive Garden many times and I almost always got the chicken scampi. I will have to post a recipe for that later. This time I wanted to give the recipe for one of their soups, zuppa toscana. I was introduced to it by my sister in law Caryn. While I was stuck on chicken scampi she loved the soup. As soon as I had it I agreed it was very good.
Of course when you can only have it on special occasions when you go out to eat I endeavored to make a just as good or better homemade version. I came up with this version that I think is very close or even better than the restaurants. I like to use the mild Italian sausage in the casing and either chop it after cooking or squeeze it from the casing while still raw. I think it makes larger, nicer chunks in the soup than the regular ground Italian sausage.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb mild italian sausage links

6 slices bacon

1/4 c water

2 T oil

1/4 c flour

1 lrg onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch kale. leaves stripped from the stems and roughly chopped

1/2 c whipping cream

2 c milk

1 T chicken base

salt and pepper to taste

5 medium red potatoes sliced 1/4 in thick

1. In a dutch oven or soup pot, pour in the water and add the sausage and bacon. Cook covered, on medium until the bacon has crisped and the sausage is cooked. Remove each as they reach doneness.
2. Add the onion to the pot and saute until slightly transparent. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. You should be able to smell it.
3. To the fat left in the pot add the oil and the flour. Stir and let it cook for a minute until it looks like wet sand. Slowly stir in 1 qt water whisking to prevent and lumps.Add the milk, potatoes salt and pepper. Let it simmer until the potatoes are almost tender.
4. Add the kale and cream and cook until the potatoes are done and the kale is slightly wilted. Season with salt and pepper and serve