Zuppa Toscana {StoveTop & SlowCooker Versions}

 Perfect soup for a cold Winter's night.  I made this and after a day of shoveling snow, this hit the spot!  I use spinach in my version and sometimes throw in some extra onion.  Since I use a slightly spicy Italian sausage, I omitted the dash of hot sauce and let people add that to their own bowl of soup, if preferred.  You can use link or ground/bulk sausage in this recipe. I've tried both and both work great. ~Enjoy! Diane 

Zuppa Toscana  

Ingredients:
1 lb Italian sausage links or bulk/ground (mild sausage or spicy)
2 large potatoes,diced into bite sized cubes
2 medium onions, diced
1/4 cup bacon bits or crumbled cooked bacon
2-3 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 cups kale, spinach, swiss chard or kale, chopped
1 cup water
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of flour, mixed together
salt/pepper to taste
hot sauce, *optional  to taste

Directions:
Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces.
Brown sausage in your soup pot with the diced onion and potato. Add in the garlic the last 30 seconds during browning, just to release its flavor without scorching.  Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done (tender).
Add in the cooked bacon.
Salt, pepper and *add hot sauce to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes.Turn to low heat.
Add in your choice of: spinach {kale or chard} 
and stir in the cream/flour. Heat through and serve.


SLOW COOKER Preparation:
 Brown sausage links in a saute pan with onion and potatoes.
 Place sausage, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker.
 Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and meat (about a cup)
 Cook on high 3-4 hours (low 5-6 hours) until potatoes are soft.

30 minutes before serving:
Mix flour into cream removing lumps.
Add cream and spinach, kale or chard to the crock pot, stir.
Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.
Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.

Recipe adapted from: Carl Barbaro
Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home