Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Source:All Recipes

This soup really reminds me of fall. It's a very hearty soup and I love the combination of Italian sausage and beef broth. I use about 4 turkey Italian sausage links and I usually cut the "simmer" time to about half. I also use 2 cans of diced tomatoes as opposed to cutting my own.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 35 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 pound of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup of chopped onion (about half an onion)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of red wine
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 cup of thinly sliced carrots (1 large carrot or 2 medium ones)
1/2 tablespoon of packed fresh basil leaves (I use 1/2 tsp of dried basil)
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 sliced zucchini
8 ounces of fresh tortellini pasta
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley.

1. In a large pot, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.

2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings until onions are clear. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Skim fat from soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.