Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Bayhill's Note:

This is a delicious soup loaded with vegetables and tortellini filled with cheese and basil. You can increase the spiciness of the soup by using hot Italian sausage and adding some red pepper flakes.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 10 cups

• 1 lb mild Italian sausage
• 1 cup onion , coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 2 cups carrots , thinly sliced
• 2 cups tomatoes , peeled, seeded and chopped (can use canned tomatoes, if desired)
• 1 ½ cups sliced zucchini
• 1 green bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• ½ cup water
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• salt , to taste
• black pepper , to taste
• 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated basil and cheese tortellini , uncooked
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley , chopped
• ½ cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated

Directions:

1. Remove and discard casings from the sausage.
2. In a large Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 Tablespoon drippings in the pan. Set sausage aside.
3. Add onion and garlic to the drippings in the pan; cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender.
4. Add sausage, beef broth, carrots, tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, tomato sauce, water, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, stirring well.
5. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Add tortellini and parsley, stirring well.
7. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until tortellini is tender. Adjust spices to taste.
8. Ladle soup into individual soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Reviews

[FloridaNative]

Very tasty soup - especially on a cold and windy evening. I didn't have the zucchini so I skipped it. I used organic 3-cheese mini-ravioli which was just right. Quick and easy to make anytime. Thanks for posting Bayhill :) Made for your FOOTBALL POOL Week #13 win, December 2010!

[Chef #1480442]

Really good!! I make this soup all the time. Modify it a bit (add beans and small shell pasta) and it makes a great minestrone

[ncage]

Pretty good. I made this last night and made some minor modifications. I'm training for a marathon so i wanted it to be healthier because i'm in marathon training so i made it with turkey italian sausage, add red pepper flakes to the sausage, and added a couple of bay leaves other than that it. The only minor thing i would change is add a little more water. The pasta soaked up a lot of water and it was just a tad dry otherwise a very satisfying soup.