Creamy Sausage & Tortellini Soup
A creamy sausage soup is the perfect balm to a dark and blustery February evening. The first sip of the broth warms you to your toes and the filling pasta keeps your belly satisfied. There are some lovely, high quality pre-made tortellini in stores nowadays. When we want a simpler soup or just don’t want to spend the extra bit of money on tortellini we will substitute for regular pasta with delicious results!
Ingredients:
1 pound loose ground italian sausage
(if you have links cut open the casing and just use the filling)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon sage, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
5-6 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream or coconut milk
1 cup finely chopped kale or spinach
10 ounces tortellini or pasta
Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven heated over medium heat, add the italian sausage and brown it. You’ll want to use a wooden spoon to break it up into bite sized pieces while it’s browning. It will release a bit of fat into the pan to keep it from sticking too much.
While the sausage is browning, cut up your onions, garlic, and sage and gather your seasonings.
Once the sausage is browned, scoop it out into a bowl. If there is still a bit of fat on the bottom of the pan you can move on from here, but if it’s quite dry you can add a bit of butter in the pot and melt it. Add the onions, garlic, sage, salt & pepper, italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes and let it all soften and caramelize together in the butter stirring often so it doesn’t burn. At this point, you’ll add the sausage back in along with the red wine vinegar, broth, cream, and kale. Stir it well and make sure the liquid covers the sausage and veg by a few inches. If not, add a bit more broth and/or cream until it does. Add the lid and let it sit at a low simmer, not a boil as this will curdle the cream. You’ll want to let it simmer for about 30 minutes, but it can wait longer! Just before eating cook the pasta or tortellini in a separate pot and portion into bowls before ladling the soup over top. Top with a shower of freshly grated parmesan and dig in.
