Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hot Italian Sausage Soup


Contributed by Dawn Marie Hamilton

I like soup at any time of year. This soup is hardy enough for a satisfying meal. If you don't like the heat, try sweet sausage instead.

Ingredients:

1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
48 ounces fat free, sodium reduced, chicken broth
1 can (14½ ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, chopped (with skins on)
1½ teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups medium-size, dried shell pasta
6 ounces spinach leaves, chopped
Grated aged Asiago cheese

1. Slit sausage casings and remove. Place sausage into a 6-quart pan over high heat and stir often, breaking apart sausage with a spoon. (tool hint: I have a spoon with a straight lower edge that is perfect for this task.)

2. Add carrots and onions, stirring often until onion is limp. Add chicken broth, tomatoes (with juice), Cannellini beans, garlic, basil, and pepper. Bring to boil.

3. Add pasta and zucchini. Cover, lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender to the bite.

4. Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted.

Serve with grated Asiago cheese. When reheating, add a small amount of chicken broth to thin soup. Enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. A beautiful picture, Dawn. I intend to find out soon if tastes as good as it looks!

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  2. If you make the soup, Pat, please let me know if you like it. It's one of my favs. :)

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  3. This recipe reminds me of one a friend used for a large crowd on a ski trip. She used tortellini as the pasta. A big hit!

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  4. That sounds great, Lois. Any variation of this soup would certainly satisfy the hungry athlete after cold-weather exercise. Thanks for stopping by.

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