30-60 min6 servingsamerican

Not-Really-Olive-Garden's Zuppa Toscana

By Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

6 servings

30-60 min

Medium

Recipe Details

Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 7 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Total Time: 30-60 min

Cooking Technique: Pressure Cook, Sauté

Cuisine: American, American

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. sweet or mild Italian chicken sausage
1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
3 large russet or baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tsp. fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 cups loosely packed baby kale mix, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Ours, like the original recipe for this chain’s favorite, is a sausage, potato, and kale soup. But we’ve made a couple of changes that make the soup, well, better. First, almost all copycat recipes for this soup call for pork sausage and then ask you to drain off the rendered fat. Doing so is a pain! And even if you drain off the fat, more comes out under pressure. So we substituted chicken sausage — which means you don’t have to drain the pot and the soup doesn’t get an oil slick. Even better, because we’ve used a lower-fat sausage, we can then use cream (rather than half-and-half, as called for in the original) to make more satisfying bowlfuls. The original also calls for regular kale but we feel baby kale is easier (because it doesn’t need to be stemmed) and sweeter (so it tastes better alongside the cream).

INSTRUCTIONS

Press Sauté and set to Medium/Normal and set the time for 10 minutes.
Warm the oil in the insert set in a 5-, 6-, or 8-quart Instant Pot. Crumble in the sausage meat and cook, stirring often to break up any clumps, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Add the onion and continue cooking, stirring more frequently, until the onion softens, about 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and scrape up any browned bits on the pot’s bottom.
Stir in the potatoes, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat and lock the lid on the pot.
For the Max Model: Set the pot to Pressure Cook on Max for 10 minutes.

For all other Instant Pots: Set the pot to Pressure Cook/Manual on High for 12 minutes.

For the Slow-Cook Function: Set the pot to Slow Cook on High for 3 hours.
When the pot has finished cooking under pressure, use the quick- release method to bring the pressure back to normal. Whichever cooking method you’ve used, unlatch the lid and open the cooker.
Press Sauté and set to Medium/Normal for 5 minutes.
As the soup comes to a simmer, stir in the baby kale and cream. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes to wilt the kale completely and nix the taste of raw cream. Turn off the heat and set the pot aside for 2 to 3 minutes before serving warm.

Notes

Beyond
• Use a half-and-half combo of sweet and spicy chicken sausage.
• Drizzle servings with olive oil.
• And top them with finely grated Pecorino Romano., Other Pots
• For a 3-quart Instant Pot, you must halve all of the ingredient amounts.
• For a 10-quart Instant Pot, you must increase all of the ingredient amounts by 50 percent or you can even double them.

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About the chef

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

In this duo, Bruce Weinstein is the chef and Mark Scarbrough, the writer. Together, they’ve published over 35 cookbooks, hit international best-seller lists, won national and international awards, and have been interviewed by the best, from Lester Holt to Barbara Walters. Weinstein also writes knitting books, designs patterns, and teaches knitting workshops. Besides writing their cookbooks, Scarbrough also teaches literature classes; has a podcast called Walking With Dante, where he takes you on journey from hell to paradise; and has written a memoir, BOOKMARKED: HOW THE GREAT WORKS OF WESTERN LITERATURE F*CKED UP MY LIFE.

View All Bruce's Recipes