Here is the problem: it has taken me nearly SEVEN years of blood, sweat, and tears to get him to touch vegetables. When we met, my boyfriend (let's call him C) subsisted on turkey hot pockets, omelets, fast food, and canned tomato soup. Thank Goodness for tomato soup - its the only vegetable he saw from age 9 to 18 and I firmly believe that its what saved him from croaking of malnutrition.
I started with potatoes - something he enjoyed, but rarely ate, and even more rarely ate fresh (potato flakes, anyone?) . Through our teen years and his first few years of living on his own, I managed to sneak in carrots and corn. I learned how to cook soul-food so that I could make delicious collard greens and sweet potato pie the way his Grandmommy did - just to coax him into taking a bite. My hard work payed off, I guess - around our fifth anniversary, C calmly and rationally took a bite of an arugula spring mix salad that came with a fancy meal we'd ordered (to be honest, I was a little ticked. I was used to having double portions of salad when we ate out!).
I digress, but you get the idea. Its taken a very long time for C to unlearn all of the bad habits he was raised in, and his health has taken a complete turnaround - but he's still picky. Anything too "green" tasting was out. Anything with more than a few veggies was out. I knew he'd like a cream soup to disguise any off texture or powerful vegetable taste.
My search brought me to Zuppa Toscana, made popular as one of Olive Garden's signature soups. It was perfect - soft, small potatoes, cream and onions, sausage, and just a hint of green. It fit perfectly, especially since my C has recently started a new job requiring strenuous physical labor. He's a very thin, fit individual and has a racing metabolism, so I thought that this soup would perfectly fit his needs for carbohydrates, protein, fat, and vitamins. Unfortunately for me, this is the sort of recipe that would affirm my need for pants with elastic waists - but as a treat, its wonderful, and with the turkey sausage, the fat is cut in half.
What You'll Need
1 pound spicy Italian-style turkey sausage
3 large russet potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
one half medium yellow onion, diced.
2-3 quarts chicken stock *v
1/2-2/3 cup potato flakes or instant mashed potatoes
3 cups fresh baby spinach
3 cloves garlic
butter/olive oil
Italian seasoning (rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme)
Recipes I've checked out use conventional pork sausage and bacon, but I do not eat pork. I found a delicious Italian turkey sausage at Whole Foods, and have seen Italian turkey sausages by Jennie-O at the supermarket. If you cannot find anything, just flavor ground turkey with italian seasonings, paprika, and a little chili.
I did not bother with turkey bacon in lieu of pig bacon because in my experience, turkey bacon is not good in recipes. Its a great substitute with eggs and biscuits and on BLTs, but when boiled and overcooked its gets a bland, flat, rubbery texture. Since its so lean it does not leave any flavorful grease - so in my opinion, it was just not worth the effort.
I did not peel the potatoes before using them - I just scrubbed them well.
I used baby spinach because spinach is what Olive Garden uses and because I knew already that C enjoys soft baby spinach. Bunched spinach, kale or swiss chard, pulled from the tough stems and chopped, will also do. I also think that mustard or turnip greens would go well with the spicy sausage as well.
Nearly any vegetable stock will substitute well with chicken stock. I've seen many meatless Italian "sausages", but have not tried any. If you try one, please leave me feedback in a comment!
The How-To
Begin by browning your sausages until they are no longer pink inside. Instead of slice the sausage, I squeezed the meat out of the casing to form bite sized balls. Add splashes of water or stock (or liquor!) once in a while to deglaze the spicy-sweet drippings.When finished, set the sausages and the juices aside. Wash your pot if its especially glazy and brown (I don't recall this being a problem with pork sausage while I still ate pork, but my pot was very sticky after using the turkey sausage)
Next, sautee your diced onions and mashed garlic cloves until transparent in butter or olive oil. If using bacon, fry the bacon first, then cook the onions in the bacon grease.
Once the onions are ready, add your stock! I used too much. 2 quarts should suffice. Bring the stock and onion mixture to a boil...
and add your potatoes! Cook the potatoes until fork-tender.
Once the potatoes are ready, add the sausage and reduce the heat to a low simmer to reheat the sausage and to mix the flavors.
C greatly enjoys very thick, creamy soups. I wasn't about to dump an entire quart of cream into the soup just for him, so I thickened it with potato flakes. Sprinkle in the flakes slowly while stirring to avoid clumps.
After mixing in the potato flakes, slowly add one cup of cream. Add less cream if you notice your soup looking too thin or too white. Turn off the heat.
After the soup stops simmering, add a few handfuls of greens. 
Stir gently and be patient - the greens will wilt themselves into the soup. If making a large pot, consider leaving the soup "naked" to avoid mushy greens on Day 2 or 3 of leftover Zuppa Toscana. When serving individual bowls, place the desired amount of greens at the bottom of the bowl, serve the soup on top, and stir right before eating. 
Serve in small bowls with cheese on top and fresh spinach as a garnish. C thuroughly enjoyed this soup - something surprising, since I thought I may have gone overboard by combining onions with greens. Alas, he loved it and licked the bowl and asked for more even though he was filled by the first thick, hearty bowl.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment