The Ultimate 20-Minute Comfort: How to Make Authentic Italian Tuscan Soup at Home

If you’re used to cooking at home, it’s likely you have your own list of recipes you use more often than others. Despite sticking to some kind of food routine, you might also have had a thought of going in circles with the same dishes again and again.

Well, here’s some good news for soup lovers — this authentic Italian soup from Toscana can make a huge difference. Just follow the easy recipe below, and you’ll likely become obsessed with this hearty meal.

Ingredients (for 4 portions): 250 g of minced pork or beef, 300 g of potatoes, 120–150 g of onion, two cloves of garlic, 200 ml of 15% heavy cream, 50 g of butter, 30 g of hard cheese, 1 teaspoon of ground paprika, a teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper, a teaspoon of sugar, 2–3 sprigs of fresh parsley, a teaspoon of dried Italian herbs, two small lettuce leaves, 1.5 liters of water.

Finely chop the parsley with a sharp knife. Melt half the butter in a skillet and add the ground pork. Add the parsley, sugar, paprika, Italian herbs, salt, and black pepper.

Mix the ground meat with the herbs and spices. Grate the peeled garlic clove on a fine grater. Fry for 5-6 minutes, breaking it up occasionally with a wooden spatula.

The meat should shrink slightly in volume. The paprika, herbs, and garlic will give it a beautiful color and aroma. Pour 1.5 liters of water into a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into large cubes, and add them to the boiling water. Cook the potatoes until tender. Dice the onion into small cubes. Finely chop the remaining garlic clove as well. In another skillet, melt the remaining butter and fry the onion and garlic until golden brown.

Mash the cooked potatoes in their cooking liquid into a puree. Add the fried onion and garlic, bring to a boil, and cook for 2–3 minutes. Pour the cream into the pot, bring to a boil, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Now add the ground meat to the pot, season with salt to taste, and cook for another 10 minutes. The soup is ready; you can turn off the stove and let it rest for another 5–7 minutes. Grate the cheese on a fine grater and pour the soup into serving bowls. For an extra touch of flavor, add half a leaf of lettuce to each bowl.