Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb Italian sausage , casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 large zucchini (chopped or sliced)
• 1 large carrot , sliced
• 1 green bell pepper , chopped
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 10 ounces cheese tortellini
• salt and pepper
• fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute and crumble Italian sausage until no longer pink.
2. Drain sausage well on paper towels and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from saucepan.
3. Add onion and garlic to saucepan.
4. Saute until translucent.
5. Return sausage to pan; add beef broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, wine, basil, and oregano.
6. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 40-60 minutes.
7. Add tortellini and cook until tender.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Ladle into individual soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Reviews

[Kate in Ontario]

Wonderful full bodied soup! I followed recipe exactly except substituted 2 stalks of celery for the zucchini(family preference). Very similar to my version Kate's Spicy Sausage Tortellini Soup except I use chicken broth and spicy clamato juice instead of the beef broth and wine.. I used extra lean Itaian spicy turkey sausage to keep the fat content down. My sons gave it 5 1/2 stars. Will be enjoying this recipe many more times. Thanks NurseDi for another great recipe!

[ciao]

***Editing to Add: First off, let me say I've been making this soup for years, and my family loves it. But the last time I made it, I came to this copy instead of the one in my book, and the 2 TBSP on the basil and oregano can be very overwhelming. I thought it seemed like a lot, but I went ahead and threw it all in in a hurry. I had to scoop most of it off the top of the soup (thankfully, it all floated to the top). In my original copy, it's 1/2 TSP of each. Just wanted to add this for anyone that may be interested.*** Di, I love this soup! Made it last night... I made no substitutions, but I added 2 extra cups of beef broth,as this is a loaded(with good stuff) soup, and we like good broth. And I used canned chopped tomatoes. The flavor of this soup is just incredible, and anyone that tries it falls immediately in love with it! Great served with green salad and crusty bread, for dipping, of course! Very easy to make, and smells so good while simmering, too. Anyone that likes soup should definitely give this one a go! And it deserves way more than 5 stars. too. Thanks for posting!

[Pansori]

I don't think words can describe how wonderful this soap is. I served it to my hubby and my mom in law and they could not stop raving about it. I did have to make a few substitutes: I did not have onions or red wine on hand, so I ommited them, but they were not missed. Instead of 2 tomatoes I used 1 can of crushed tomatoes, and I also threw in some mushrooms. I garnished it with parsley. YU-UM! Mom in law said it was one of the best things she ever tasted. Thanks, NurseDi!