Minestrone Soup with Sausage and Tortellini

It's flavorful and filling. It's a meal in a pot.

It's been raining a lot in California and that's when I pull out the warming winter recipes. I recently made a big pot of minestrone soup but instead of all keeping it all veggies I added some sausage and cheese tortellini.



What you are going to need:

• Olive oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 to 3 medium size medium zucchini, diced
• 1 1/2 cups green beans, sliced
• 5 cups beef stock
• 4 cups water (approx)
• 1 35 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, crushed
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• Outer rind of Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained
• 6 ounces dried cheese tortellini
• Freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano cheese

Directions: in a large soup pot, saute the whole sausage in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook them only until slightly underdone as they will cook more in the soup. Remove from the pan and set aside. Once they are fully cooled slice them.

In the same pot add the chopped onion. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the sliced carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and green beans cooking 2 to 3 minutes between each addition.


Add the beef stock, water, canned tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste. A word about the water. Add enough to make it a fairly thin soup because later when you add the tortellini they will suck up a lot of the broth. Add the cheese rind to the center of the pot, cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours on a slow simmer.


15 minutes before serving add the sliced sausage back in, then the beans and the tortellini. Again if the soup gets too thick add a little more water. Heat this for 15 minutes or until the tortellini is done.

Serve in large bowls with freshly grated cheese on top. A nice hunk of bread with this soup and you have a very hearty meal.


I have learned after making this soup many times that adding the pasta early will make for a mushy soup as the pasta will fall apart.


Hint: When ever I have rind left from Parmesan, or other hard rind cheeses, I save it. I keep it in a Ziploc bag and use it for soups and stews or pot roasts. It adds a wonderful flavor and it is usually something that is thrown away.

This soup is very satisfying. The men in your life will love it.