Minstrone Italian Sausage Soup
Minestrone Italian Sausage Soup ~ hearty, comfort soup loaded with vegetables and italian sausage in a rich tomato broth.
Servings: 4
Calories:
Ingredients
- ½ pound Italian sausage sweet or mild, not hot and loose/no casing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup red wine dry, not sweet
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can Great Northern beans drained
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 ¼ cup frozen green beans
- ½ cup pasta ditalini or other tiny variety
- ½ cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
- 1/3 cup basil sliced into ribbons
- Parmesan cheese for grating over soup
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it browns.
- Once the sausage has browned add a drizzle of olive oil, then drop in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic.
- Season with salt and pepper and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft, but not browned. The carrots won’t be tender at this point.
- Add the wine to the pot, scraping the brown bits off and cook 2 minutes.
- Blend in the tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes then stir in the diced and crushed tomatoes.
- Drop in the bay leaf, oregano, canned beans and chicken stock. NOTE: if your parmesan cheese has a rind, add it to the soup now for extra flavor.
- Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Fold in the green beans, pasta, parsley and basil and cook until the pasta is al dente.
- Grate some parmesan cheese over the top of each bowl and enjoy with a slice or two of good bakery type bread.