SPINACH TORTELLINI & FENNEL SAUSAGE SOUP

This soup is easy, versatile and eye catching, as my Mother would say. What makes this easy are the ingredient options you have. You can choose to use ready-made, store bought ingredients or home-made. In addition, there are many options for greens and vegetables that work perfectly. Our recipe uses a combination of store-bought and home-made. It fit my schedule beautifully to prepare it this way.

Before you read the recipe below, we wanted to list ingredients you can purchase at the store to save yourself a little time: Ground pork with Italian seasoning OR Italian sausage links (casings removed), fresh plump spinach or cheese stuffed tortellini, roasted red peppers in a jar (no vinegar), organic chicken broth, fresh or preserved pesto.

We’d love to know what combinations and personal touches you made to your soup ~ anything goes!

Makes 6 portions

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE TORTELLINI

•  20 oz bag of store-bought fresh spinach stuffed tortellini

Cook your tortellini according to directions. Run under cold water to stop cooking process and set aside until soup is ready. (They should be slightly al dente to hold up to the hot soup)

FOR THE HOME-MADE SAUSAGE

• 1 lb of grass-fed ground pork
• 1 T fennel seed
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (approximately 2 tablespoons)
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon zest (optional)

Mix ingredients together until well incorporated. In a saute pan on medium high heat, break tablespoon size portions of the sausage and drop into pan. They aren’t to be rolled or perfect in any way. Just plop them in and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Pieces should be slightly caramelized. Once cooked, set aside until soup is ready.

FOR THE SOUP

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, cut in half and sliced into moon shaped pieces (approximately 1 cup)
• 1-1/2 C roasted red bell peppers, cut into birte size pieces (approximately two peppers)
• 1 stalk organic celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6-8 mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 T Italian seasoning (we used Penzy’s)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1/2 quarts of home-made organic chicken broth (or store-bought organic chicken stock)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp each Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• 5 C fresh organic baby spinach
• drizzle of olive oil
• garnishes: chopped organic Italian parsley, basil pesto, shaved asiago or romano cheese

In a 3 to 4 quart stock pot on medium high heat, add olive oil, onion, red bell pepper and celery and cook for approximately 6 minutes until vegetables are slightly softened. Add garlic, mushrooms, butter, Italian seasoning and bay leaves and cook for 4 more minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Add in broth, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Turn down heat to medium, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add spinach, sausage and tortellini, cover and simmer for another 4-5 minutes.

To serve, ladle equal amounts of ingredients and broth into each bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley, shaved cheese and if so desired, basil pesto

COOK’s NOTES: