Hearty Minestrone Soup

Submitted by ragazza del vino

"I found this recipe 20 years ago in a cooking magazine - I changed it up to make it my own and now it's my familys favorite soup. I entered this recipe in a Chili & Soup Cook Off and won first place in the soup category. Sometimes I'll use a mix of sweet italian and hot italian sausage to spice things up a bit. Hope you enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 50mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6-10

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground sweet Italian sausage (remove from casing if using links)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 -3 tablespoons fresh basil
• 3 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and thick sliced
• 2 small zucchini, halved then thick sliced
• 4 -8 cups chicken broth
• 24 ounces diced tomatoes (drained)
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) can great northern beans, undrained

directions

1. Brown sausage in olive oil. Add onion, garlic, carrots and basil; cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini, tomatoes with liquid, enough broth to cover ingredients plus about 1" extra, cabbage and salt & pepper. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour. Add beans with liquid, cook another 20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.
2. (Even better the second day!).