Tortellini Soup

 

Two things I love the most about the winter season are soup and hoodies.  For about a month and a half I have been trying to find the day with the right combination of cold weather outside and spare time inside my kitchen to make this soup.  The funny thing is that it doesn't take too much effort to make this soup, so I'm going to blame it on the crazy busy holiday season and the unseasonably warm weather that has kept me from making this soup.  One of my best friends from college gave me this recipe years ago while we were in college and I have been tweaking it and making it ever since.  It is one of my all time favorite winter soups and is hearty enough to be served as a main dish.

Ingredients

1 lb Turkey sausage

1/4 tsp ground black Pepper

Olive Oil

1 Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

5 cups Beef stock

2 cups Water

1/2 cup Red wine

1 (14.5 oz) can tomatoes

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cup Carrots, chopped

1/2 tsp dried Basil

1/2 tsp dried Oregano

1/2 tsp dried Parsley

1 1/2 tsp red Pepper (+/- depending on how spicy you like things)

1/4 tsp ground black Pepper

1 (4 oz) can sliced black Olives (optional)

2 cups Zuchinni, chopped

16 oz. cheese tortellini (frozen or refridgerated)

1 green Bell pepper, chopped

Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

Saute the sausage with ground black pepper over medium high heat until browned.  Remove from pan saving the drippings.

Saute onions and garlic for about 5 minutes in reserved drippings.  (If using lean turkey sausage you may need to add 1/2 tbs of olive oil)

Add beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, parsley, red pepper, black pepper, and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes.

  

Add the olives, zucchini, tortellini, and green bell pepper and simmer for 10 minutes or until tortellini is fully cooked.  Ladel into individual bowls and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.   

This soup is great fresh, but even better the second day.  It serves 8-10, so it welcomes leftovers.

Amanda's Tips:

This recipe is for frozen or refrigerated tortellini.  If you pick up dried tortellini it will soak up a good amount of liquid while cooiking so include at least one extra cup water and one extra cup broth.