Clever chef Michele Vieux has figured out a way to nearly Paleo-ize The Olive Garden’s zuppa Toscana.
“We’re going to take out the potatoes. We’re going to use something else instead. But, otherwise, it’s just a bunch of vegetables,” she explains.
The CrossFit Invictus coach begins with bite-sized pieces of Italian chicken sausage in a pot with bacon grease. While it browns, she makes additional sausage with ground beef. Once the chicken sausage is done, she removes it and cooks the beef sausage in the drippings.
Next up are the vegetables: kohlrabi (in lieu of potatoes), celery, onion and mushrooms with a tablespoon of fresh chopped garlic. Once the vegetables are done, Vieux adds the meat back in and pours in the chicken broth, letting it all simmer for 10 minutes.
“All the flavors will come together that way and then we’ll finish it off with our greens and a little bit of heavy whipping cream, which I am definitely not afraid to use—just adds that much more flavor. You could totally leave it out if you want. ”
To download the recipe for Zuppa Toscana, click here.
Video by Again Faster.
18min 6sec
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Additional audio: CrossFit Radio Episode 218 by Justin Judkins, published April 4, 2012.