On Tue, 4 Nov 1997 18:03:20 -0800 Mike & Paula Clark <[log in to unmask]>
writes:

>Toscana Soup – modified from Olive Garden’s recipe

As I was trying to figure out what to make for a dinner party we had
yesterday, I remembered this recipe.  I was tired of always serving
grilled chicken and rice :-)  I also came across some recipes for
Portugese Caldo Verde which it turns out is very similar.  I'll give you
my variation on this that I used.  Trying to come up with a solution to
the bread with butter vs. margarine dilemna, I decided to make focaccia
and avoid the whole problem.  For openers I made an Anitpasto tray with
some prosciutto, olives, and marinated vegetables along with crackers and
breadsticks.  I just eliminated the usual cheeses that I would have put
with it.  With dinner, I served a salad of baby spinach, yellow tomatoes,
and shredded daikon dressed with a simple balsamic vinegarette (balsamic
vinegar, minced garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil).  This paired
wonderfully with a Nouveau Beaujolais, but a Chianti would have been
great too.  I found dairy free biscotti (not an easy thing) and served
them with Amaretto for dipping for dessert.  Everything was wonderful and
no one even missed the dairy!  Not even my husband who is not the most
supportive of this whole thing :-(  Even the baby liked the soup (run
through a food mill of course) and the focaccia.

Caldo Verde

5 links Linguicia or Italian sausage (I couldn't find any Linguicia w/o
dairy and even had trouble finding Italian sausage)
4 large potatoes thickly sliced (thin skinned, preferrably not peeled)
1 medium onion sliced
3 cloves garlic sliced or minced
1 bunch kale or other greens chopped or sliced
2-3 quarts degreased chicken stock (I suppose you could use canned, but
be careful because some contain dairy as I recently found out)
salt and pepper

Remove the casings from the sausage and poach in a small amount of water
just until they are firm.  Remove and slice thinly.  Using drippings from
sausage or a small amount of olive oil, saute onions and garlic until
carmelized.  Add back sliced sausage and potatoes.  Add enough chicken
stock to cover by about 2 inches.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to boil and simmer soup for about 25 to 30 minutes until potatoes
are soft and start to break apart.  This will add some body to the soup.
Some recipes I saw actually called for mashing the potatoes in the soup.
Add the kale and simmer 10 - 15 more minutes.  Serves 6-8 as a main
course.  I had everything prepared up to the point of putting the kale in
and held it in a slack oven for several hours.  I put it back on to heat
and put the kale in when I put the bread in the oven and served the
salad.

Focaccia Romana

1 pkg Rapid Rise yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp salad oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 c unbleached flour (I use bread flour)

Dissolve yeast in water.  Add sugar, oils, salt.  Mix in 1 1/2 cup of
flour and whip dough until it leaves the side of the bowl -about 10
minutes (I use a big mixer with a dough hook for all of this).  Mix in
remaining flour by hand or with a dough hook until dough is soft and
smooth.  Allow dough to rise and double twice, punching down in between.
Each rise should take about an hour or so, but it's very forgiving if you
let it go too long.  Preheat oven to 375 F.  If you have a baking stone
or tiles, use them.  Oil a 13 x 18 in baking sheet.  I use 3 - 9in pie
plates and divide the dough among them.  Using hands, press dough to
endges of pan(s). If it's too elastic, let it rest a few minutes and try
again.  Dimple the dough with your finger tips.   Allow to rise for about
30 minutes.  Brush with olive oil mixed with crushed garlic or any herbed
oil is good.  The classic topping is a sprinkling of rosemary and kosher
salt.  I also like pine nuts, julliened roasted peppers, or chopped
calamata olives.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  If you have a baking stone,
remove from pans for the last 5 minutes to get a nice crisp bottom crust.
 Remove from oven and cool on rack for a few minutes before cutting into
wedges.  This works very well as pizza dough.


Hope someone finds these a good addition to their recipe collection!
Kathy P.