As I mentioned recently, I have definitely been on a soup kick lately. When my friends and I got together for our baking day last week, my friend Sarah brought a pot of this soup for us to have for lunch. It was fantastic! I asked her what recipe she used and it turned out to be this one, a recipe I have had bookmarked to try for months. That was the push I needed to finally try it myself. This is a wonderfully hearty soup, perfect for the awful cold weather and snowy days we have been having lately. It is similar to a vegetable soup, but the addition of Italian sausage and pasta puts it over the top – YUM! The only issue I had with this was that it really pushed the limits of my 5-quart Dutch oven. I was still able to stir the soup, but only very carefully. Obviously, this makes a huge quantity. I considered halving it, but what am I going to do with leftover half-cans of beans? I decided to just make the full batch and freeze half for my brother Steven, since I always worry about what he is eating now that he has his own place. I like to try to help him get better meals than the average college student :)
Ingredients
2 tbsp. butter, divided
1 (20 oz.) package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
48-64 oz. reduced-sodium beef broth (depending on how much liquid you would like)
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
4 oz. small dry pasta (such as ditalini)
Directions
- 01
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the pot and brown, crumbling as it cooks. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and discard any excess grease.
- 02
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, 8-10 minutes. Return the sausage to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes with juices, stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 03
Add the beans, beef broth and tomato sauce to the pot. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer at least 30 minutes.
- 04
Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve.
Source
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker