Tuscan Sausage and Vegetable Stew # Ragu

Ragú® Recipe Contest Entry. This is a warm and hearty stew to serve on cold winter days. It offers different range of flavors from vegetables and herbs.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6 people

Ingredients

• 1  lb hot Italian sausage
• 1  red bell pepper, and
• 1  yellow bell pepper
• 2  medium carrots
• 3  garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1  cup  chunky  Ragú® Pasta Sauce
• 2  gold yukon gold potatoes
• 1  cup rigatoni pasta
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
• 1⁄2 bunch cauliflower
• 1  cup  torn kale leaf (stems removed)
• 1  teaspoon rosemary
• 1  teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon flour, mixed with
• 1  tablespoon water

• Herbed Butter

• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter, and
• 1  tablespoon  chopped basil, and
• 1  tablespoon flat leaf parsley
•  olive oil
•  parmesan cheese

Directions

1. 1. Cut sausage into small pieces. Peel and chop onion and bell peppers into cubes. Peel and grate carrots through a grater.
2. 2. Heat one table spoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Cook sausage until browned, for about 5-7 minutes, add onions and peppers and stir. Add grated carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic cloves and spices and cook for one minute. Add 1 cup Ragu chunky pasta sauce and 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Turn down the heat on low.
3. 3. Peel and chop potatoes into cubes. Add them to the pot. Cover the lid, bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes.
4. 4. Cut cauliflower into florets and add them to the pot along with kale leaves. Cook for 10 more minutes until cauliflower is tender. Add cooked garbanzo beans to the pot and stir everything together. Mix together one table spoon flour with 1 table spoon of water and add it to the pot as a thickener, cook for one more minute.
5. 5. To make herbed butter: mix together soft butter with finely minced herbs. To serve, put a dollop of butter over the bowl of soup with sprinkles of Parmesan cheese.