Recipe of the Month – August 2021

Zuppa Toscana Soup

As prepared by Danielle Cowen, Summit’s Food Service Director

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon, uncooked, diced

1 lb hot Italian sausage, ground or remove the casing

10 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium white onion, diced

4 cups vegetable stock

6 cups chicken broth, low sodium

5 red bliss potato, diced

1 bunch of kale, de-ribbed, rough chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

• In a Dutch oven, or stock pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until the fat has rendered down, and bacon crisps up. Remove bacon, discard all except a ¼ cup of fat.
• Add sausage, onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook until onions are translucent, and sausage is fully cooked.
• Add both stocks and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
• Add kale, bacon, heavy cream. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until kale softens up.
• Season with salt and pepper as desired along the way.

Tips and Tricks

• August is a harvest month here in New England, and a lot of wonderful hearty vegetables are in peak freshness. I love making this soup because it’s when my Kale is ready, and it’s great for freezing.
• This recipe yields about 12 large servings, so I like to portion out my soup in containers and freeze it for a cold winter night.
• To thaw this soup, just put it in the refrigerator 2 days before desired use.
• To re-heat, I suggest pouring into a saucepan, over medium heat with a lid on. Either bring to a boil or allow soup to simmer.