February 2010

Since it is still winter in this lovely part of the country (and we have at least another month and half to go before Spring starts showing up regularly), I wanted to get another big pot of homemade soup made. I found a Vegetable and Spicy Sausage Soup in the March issue of Cooking Light and it looked like a winner. I can honestly say that of all the recipes I have made from Cooking Light they have all turned out! That is a pretty good feat. 

I am rockin’ my new apron from TJ Maxx, I wanted something a little more stylish than the plain style I had before.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces 50% less fat pork sausage
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 (15.5-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan, and cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Return pan to medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and garlic; cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons tomato paste and red pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Place 1 cup vegetable mixture, 1/2 cup of broth, and 1 can of beans in a food processor, and process until smooth.

Return pureed bean mixture to pan. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth and 1 can of beams; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, half-and-half, rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Ladle soup into each bowl and top with sausage.

This soup had great flavor and the red pepper flakes give it a nice kick. The next time we make this I would probably add a little more pork or maybe even turkey sausage to give it a bit more protein.  We served our soup with some quick sandwiches to make it a bit more filling.

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