Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana Soup

Slice the sausage into thin angeled pieces. Melt butter in a large pot and add sausage slices to brown, along with bacon if using. Add the chopped onion to the sausage and cook and stir until browned.

Add the chicken broth to the sausage and onion, along with the sliced potatoes. De-stem the kale, separating the tough ribs from the green leaves. Chop the ribs and add to the soup to cook and soften. Coarsely chop the kale leaves and set aside.

Adjust the cooking liquid by adding more broth if desired as you want the potatoes to be immersed in liquid. Cook until the potatoes are just done. Add in the reserved kale leaves, gently push down into the soup, and simmer for another few minutes. It may seem like an overwhelming amount of kale at first but it soon reduces in volume. Cook until the kale wilts, then stir in the milk (or cream) and just heat through, ensuring that the soup doesn't boil. Add salt and coarse ground pepper to taste. Serve along with slices of crunchy bread.

Note: You may have noticed that many recipes in this collection recommend serving the meal accompanied with crunchy bread. This is definitely an influence from German-born Henry, who definitely loves his bread.