For many, soup is the ultimate comfort food, whether it is a soothing light stracciatella or a hearty pasta e fagioli.
When the weather turns cold, nothing satisfies quite like a hot and hearty cup of soup. And that’s just what you’ll enjoy with this Italian sausage and tortellini soup. I serve it with simple to make mozzarella biscuits or rustic ricotta biscuits.
Ingredients:
- 1-pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1-cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 5 cups beef broth
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce can) tomato sauce
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1/2-cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 2 cups, thinly sliced zucchini
- 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
- 9-oz. pkg, fresh cheese tortellini
- Parmesan cheese, grating for the final touch
- Using a large soup pot, brown sausage on medium-high heat. Transfer to a plate. Using same pot, cook onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add red wine, stirring to scrape up the tasty brown bits remaining in pan from sausage. Cook until wine is reduced by half.
- Stir in the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, carrots, water, oregano, basil and cooked sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered 30 minutes.
- Stir in zucchini and parsley, simmer covered 10 minutes. (If I’m making this in advance, I stop here, let it cool and store in refrigerator. On the day I’m going to serve it, I bring the soup to a simmer and then follow the next step).
- Add tortellini, simmer, covered 8-10 minutes.
- Ladle hot soup into bowls, top with grated Parmesan and chopped Italian parsley. Serve with biscuits. of your choice.
