Zuppa Toscana soup with butternut squash

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Zuppa Toscana soup with butternut squash

A Zuppa Toscana soup recipe with butternut squash and no heavy cream.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Servings: 1.5 cup bowls

Calories: 394kcal

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil or sun dried tomato oil
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
10 ounce jar sun dried tomatoes in oil or 2 jars for a strong flavor, see note
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or 1 teaspoon each oregano and thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper or red pepper flakes
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
1 lbs yukon gold potatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 bunch kale curly, flat leaf, or sub with fresh spinach
¾ lbs sausage (pre cooked to save time, see note)

Instructions

PREP WORK

Dice the onions and garlic. Peel and dice the butternut squash. Dice the potatoes (no need to peel). Remove the kale from the stems, then slice into bite-size strips.

SAUTE AROMATICS

If you have raw sausage, cook it in your dutch oven or soup pot first, then set it aside, leaving the fat behind (to replace the olive oil for sauteing the onions). If you have pre-cooked sausage, you will add it much later in the process.
Add olive oil (or sun dried tomato oil from the jar) to a dutch oven or large soup pot. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and onions start to turn golden.
Add the sun dried tomatoes and spices: paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir into onions and garlic until fragrant. (Many of flavor compounds of spices are oil soluble, so this step helps release those flavors).

ADD BROTH & SIMMER

Add 6 cups of broth along with diced butternut squash and potatoes. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Once soft, use a slotted spoon and scoop out half of the butternut squash and potatoes. These will be added back in as the chunky part of the soup. Then puree remaining vegetables & broth in the soup pot using an immersion blender. (Alternatively, transfer to a blender for an ultra-smooth base, careful not to fill too full and splatter hot soup everywhere).

FINISH THE SOUP

Add the reserved butternut squash and potatoes back to the pot, along with the kale and the already-cooked sausage. Return to a simmer and continue until the sausage is warmed back up. Taste and add salt if needed.
Serve with a side of crusty Italian bread.

Notes

Sun dried tomatoes: A 10-ounce jar is enough to blend into the soup base for subtle hint of their characteristic flavor, plus an added richness. You can use a second jar and add them (chopped) into the soup after it's been pureed, for little bites of sun dried tomatoes. The second jar would add about 100 calories per bowl of soup (1.5 cups).

Sausage: Since the soup is pureed, you can't leave the sausage in the broth when it cooks. You can cook it ahead of time, in a separate pan, or use precooked sausage. I like using Aidell's Italian chicken sausage in this soup. The nutrition is calculated using Aidell's Italian chicken sausage.

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