Tuscan Sausage and Vegetable Soup by RR

By Rose Rauhauser
@NewYorkWoman

An Italian flavored soup that my Grandmother used to make. It's simple, easy and packed full of vitimins with all the veggies in it. Great for diets also but when she made it we weren't thinking about that. Packed full of flavor. Enjoy

Rating:

★★★★★ 5 votes

Comments:

8 Comments

Serves:

6 or more

Prep:

20 Min

Cook:

1 Hr

Method:

Stove Top

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Notes from the Test Kitchen:
This yummy soup has rich flavor of sweet Italian sausage mixed with the fresh herbs and vegetables. They balance together perfectly after simmering for an hour or so. I like the idea of blending a can of the beans for thickness, it's a great tip. This is hearty enough it could be served as a main dish. And, the cheese on top is a must! It adds an extra pop of flavor.

Ingredients

2 lb: sweet Italian sausage; cut up in chunks
3 can(s): 15 oz. canellini beans, drained (1 can reserved for puree)
: olive oil
1 c: vidalia onion, diced
1 c: carrots, diced
1 1/2 c: celery, diced
2 1/3 c: zucchini, diced (skins on)
1 Tbsp: chopped fresh thyme leaves (1 1/2 dried if you can't get fresh)
1 Tbsp: fresh sage leaves (1 tsp dried if you can't get fresh)
1 tsp: dried Italian seasonings
: a little salt and pepper to your taste (I use very little because of grated Parmesan cheese on top)
32 oz: chicken broth
2 can(s): 14.5 oz. no salt added diced tomatoes
3 c: baby spinach leaves chopped
: grated Parmesan cheese for each bowl of soup

How to Make Tuscan Sausage and Vegetable Soup by RR

Step-by-Step

1I do all my chopping and dicing and set everything aside and get ready to do it all at once. I also puree 1 can of canellini beans and get that ready to add with all the cans of beans and tomatoes are added.
2SOUP: Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. I use just enough to cover bottom of pot.
3Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, Italian seasonings and a little bit of salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally.
4Cover pot and leave on simmer until vegetables are tender about 5 minutes or so.
5Add cut up Italian sausage pieces stir through and allow to loose pinkness.
6At this point add broth, tomatoes with the juices mix. Add pureed beans and whole beans. Put lid on and simmer on low heat 1 hour. Towards the end of the hour, add the 3 cups of spinach.
7I also put in a whole piece of Italian Parmesan cheese and remove it at the end. You can serve this with ditalini or orzo pasta. I don't only because I rather all the veggies and no carbs but kids may like it with little pasta or alphabets in it. If you do keep the pasta separate and put soup on top of it and then serve. Use Italian bread for dunking if desired. Enjoy!