Old Fashioned Eating

For whatever reason I have been on a soup kick lately. I think it is the fact that it is getting cooler out now and I am looking for something warm and filling. This soup is exactly that. It took about 90 minutes to make including all the chopping. If you have that much time for dinner, this recipe doesn’t disappoint and there are plenty of leftovers.

Initially I was looking for a cream based recipe for this soup but I gave up on that after a little bit of looking. The tomato base was still good and all the vegetables were filling. I usually try to stay as far away from vegetables as I can but I have to say they really were great here and best of all, for me, they cooked to the perfect consistency (not too hard and not too soft).

This is definitely a new go to soup recipe in the house.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
• 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 2 cups diced peeled tomatoes, canned or fresh
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup dry red wine, optional
• 2 tablespoons dried leaf basil
• 2 tablespoons dried leaf oregano
• 8 to 10 ounces purchased fresh cheese tortellini
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Preparation:

1. Sauté Italian sausage in heavy kettle or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.
2. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Return sausage to Dutch oven. Add beef broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, wine, basil and oregano.
4. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes.
5. Add tortellini to soup and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Related posts:

1. Italian Spaghetti Sauce
2. Texas Tortilla Soup
3. Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup