Oh boy, are you in for a treat! This decadent, rich tortellini and Italian sausage soup has a delicious flavor, and the combination of textures of the soft tortellini and the chewy Italian sausage makes it totally satisfying to eat. It’s a perfect option for when you want to indulge yourself with a comforting meal.
We use store-bought tortellini for our soup, which you can usually find with a variety of fillings: spinach and ricotta, ham and cheese, mushrooms, and so on. In this recipe, unlike in the Tortellini and spinach soup, we recommend that you stick to the ones with ricotta and spinach or, perhaps more important, that you don’t use tortellini stuffed with ham or bacon. Doing so would hide the flavor the Italian sausage, which is the star of this recipe.
Regarding cream, you can go both ways in this recipe. If you wish to skip it, that’s fine; the fat in the sausage is enough to give richness to the soup, and if you wish to make your soup even more tasty and decadent, you can use heavy cream.
It is important to add the tortellini only after the rest of the ingredients are almost completely ready and to follow the instructions on the packaging for the cooking time. If you simmer them for too long, they can become a bit too soft and start breaking by the time you are at the table.
Tomatoes play an important role here, even if it doesn’t seem so, so try to use a brand of canned tomatoes that you know and like. Our favorite brand is Mutti, from Italy. It is a tad more expensive than generic brands, but the quality is great and, perhaps most important, consistent. (We aren’t sponsored by the brand, we just like it.)
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Tortellini and Italian sausage soup
Ingredients
- ½ lb. Italian sausage salsiccia
- ½ lb. tortellini with spinach and ricotta cheese
- 2 oz fresh spinach
- ¾ cup canned tomatoes ½ a can
- ½ small onion
- 3 cup chicken broth
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ cup light cream
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove the Italian sausages from their casing and divide them in small bite-sized chunks. Chop the onion.
- In a large saucepan heat the olive oil and add the Italian sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked. Then add the onion and cook frequently stirring until it becomes translucent. If you wish, at this point you can remove any excess fat.
- Add the canned tomatoes, chicken broth, dried basil and oregano. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the tortellini and cook according to the instructions on the package (usually for 3-4 minutes). Right before the end, add the fresh spinach and cream. Adjust the seasoning.
Notes
- You can use frozen spinach if you don’t have fresh spinach at hand.