Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Soup is a staple in our house. I'd make and eat it all year long, but the colder months just beg for it. When that time of year rolls around this soup is first on Ben's request list and around here we call it "Ben's Soup".

It's a meal in a bowl. Hearty. Add some crusty bread so soak up the delicious broth.

You will need:

•1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet, mild, or hot)
•1 large onion, chopped
•1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
•3 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth
•2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
•1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
•1 cup dry red wine (one good enough that you can sip the rest of the bottle away with your meal)
•2 carrots, thinly sliced
•1 tablespoon sugar
•2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
•2 small zucchini, sliced
•1 (9 oz) package of refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
•Parmesan cheese

Discard sausage casings (or I have noticed recently you can find ground Italian sausage just like ground beef so there's no need to mess with the casings). Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a Dutch oven over medium/high heat, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain fat. Return to pan. Stir in broth and next 6 ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Skim off fat. Stir in zucchini and tortellini. Simmer 10 minutes. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese and serve.

My recipe book shows that I first made this soup in 1999. It's one of the few recipes that I don't tweak at all because it's perfect just the way it is. It receives compliments from anyone I serve it to - most importantly Ben.