Yesterday I was craving Italian soup, and couldn't find a recipe for what I wanted...so I made it up as I went along, stopping at the store only to get the main ingredient: ground Italian sausage.
The soup was comprised otherwise of the items I already had on hand and needed to use, and so, with this monastery-like "spirit of poverty", I dedicate my new invention to my dear St. Padre Pio - I would serve it to him and to Jesus without reserve!
Italian Sausage-Tomato Soup:
1 package sweet ground Italian sausage - Johnsonville
Chicken broth - I used a box of Swanson's 1/3 less sodium
Vidalia onion
1 can diced tomatoes, garlic and basil flavor (I had DelMonte on hand)
1 fresh perfectly sweet tomato (from Aldi's)
thyme
fresh basil
oregano
garlic
celery salt
rosemary
tomato sauce (well, I didn't have any so substituted leftover pizza sauce)
red wine vinegar
Directions:
Start to heat the chicken broth in a soup pot while browning the sausage and chopped onion in a sauce pan. "Break" it up as you go so you don't have huge misshapen meatballs. Drain excess fat, then carefully add the meat/onion mixture to the broth. Open the can of Italian diced tomatoes, add to the pot, along with the other chopped fresh tomato - as many as you'd like. Add the tomato sauce and herbs according to taste. Cover the pot and simmer, but stir and taste-test occasionally for balance. I also added additional water to the broth, and salted with celery salt.
When you're satisfied with the flavor, add some kind of pasta. I had Orzo in the cupboard so used that, but any pasta would be fine - take care not to overwhelm with the pasta unless that's what you're going for. I wanted a very "brothy" soup, something perfect for dipping a hard roll into.
Serve with crackers or bread of your choice, garnish with Parmesan cheese and a fresh basil leaf.
Enjoy!
A few notes:
If you can, cook this in a slow-cooker so you can really give the flavors a chance to blend. I simmered on the stove for a couple hours, but I'm picky that way. You could simmer uncovered for a much shorter period of time and it would still be very tasty!
As this soup is very basic, you could turn it into a hearty stew by adding other garden vegetables, substitute the pork for ground turkey - the sky's the limit! (Not that turkeys fly or anything). :-)
Perhaps I'll re-post my French Onion Soup recipe soon, complete with a photo of the finished product. Anyone interested?
7 comments:
Thank you for this.
I loved the garlic soup you posted; made a large batch, and trust me, it did not last long.
This is comfort food.
Onion soup recipe please! I love homemade soup and my slow cooker does a great job!
YES POST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please repost it!
Mrs. Rudd ~ Thanks and your welcome! :-) I'm so glad the soup was a hit...it was with all of us who tried it the 1st time, too! Granted I've probably customized a bit, but the recipe I posted is pretty much what I do.
One of the local grocery store employees told me one day she is Italian and we spoke of soups. I told her offhand of the recipe and she recommended adding tomatoes and such to it, then potatoes and other veggies. I haven't yet tried that, but might one day in a smaller experimental batch to see how it turns out.
Judyferg, Cuaguy & Christi ~ OK! LOL! I will! But give me some time because I don't want 2 food posts in a row! Give people a chance to try one recipe before they are inflicted with another delicious savory nummy scrumptious soup! ;-)
Serve with crackers or bread of your choice..."
No tortillas?
Just what I was looking for.
This has everything my grandkids like.
Thank you.
*
St. Michael ~ If you click on the tag "Food I would Serve Jesus" at the bottom of this post, you may find my chicken tortilla soup - perfect for...tortillas! ;-)
But with Italian soup....nah. lol!
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