Zuppa Toscana Congee
If Heaven were a place on Earth it would be a 12:00 PM Sunday Brunch at Olive Garden ordering the unlimited breadsticks, bottomless salad, and endless bowl of Zuppa Toscana. The soup is iconic, serving suburban nostalgic comfort in a bowl of creamy soup filled with sausage, kale, and bits of bacon. This particular recipe feels like something out of my kid Taiwanese American brain, where the comfort of simple congee feels like the perfect base for a Midwestern Italian classic. Bacon and ground pork are cooked together in this adaptation, providing the base for a sauté of onions before pouring in chicken stock and rice to cook for an hour-ish and then becoming the perfect simmering bath for kale and sliced potatoes. The congee has cream, which is pretty blasephemous for traditional congee and would make my ancestors scream and fart. The richness that ensues is reminiscent of zuppa toscana that I grew up eating in Olive Garden, but feel free to omit the cream if your ancestors or Asian grandmother smacks you in the back of the head.
At a glance
Yield
4 quartsTime
2 hoursIngredients
6 ounces bacon, chopped
1 pound ground pork
Kosher salt
Light brown sugar
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 scallions, diced
4 cups chicken stock
6 cups water
4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cups white rice
1 bundle Russian or curly kale, destemmed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 teaspoons rice vinegar
Toppings
Ground pepper
Extra diced scallions
Chopped peanuts
Soy sauce (optional)
Chili oil (optional)
Preparation
Prep bacon and pork
In a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat, add chopped bacon and cook for 5-7 minutes until browned with crisp edges. Remove bacon from the pot and set onto paper towels. In the same pot, add in ground pork along with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar. Cook for around 5 minutes until cooked through. Set both the bacon and pork aside covered in the fridge until the congee is done.
Sauté onions and simmer congee
In the same pot on medium heat, add in sweet onion, garlic, and scallions along with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sauté for 5 minutes until onions are semi-transluscent and softened. Add in water, chicken broth and white rice. Bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to gently simmer for 1 1/2 hours covered until the congee has thickened.
Once the congee is cooked, add back in the sliced potatoes, kale leaves, bacon, ground pork, heavy cream, and rice vinegar. Mix, then bring to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste the congee for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Ladle congee into bowls, then top with ground pepper, extra diced scallion, chopped peanuts, and a little drizzle of soy sauce and/or chili oil to serve.
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6 ounces bacon, chopped
1 pound ground pork
Kosher salt
Light brown sugar
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 scallions, diced
4 cups chicken stock
6 cups water
4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cups white rice
1 bundle Russian or curly kale, destemmed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 teaspoons rice vinegar
Toppings
Ground pepper
Extra diced scallions
Chopped peanuts
Soy sauce (optional)
Chili oil (optional)
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