Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage

4.50 from 2 votes

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage

A creamy tortellini soup with sausage, filled with flavors of fennel, garlic, and onions. This soup easily feeds 8 and can be frozen if you cook the tortellini separate.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 615kcal

Author: Vincent DelGiudice

Cost: $15

Equipment

1 dutch oven

Ingredients

1 lb tortellini
1.25 lb sweet Italian sausage, ground
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon fennel seed
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
8 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 14 oz can cannellini beans
1-3 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
⅔ cup heavy cream

Instructions

Remove your sweet Italian sausage from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking. Bring a large dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the ground sausage into the pan. Let it sear for 3 minutes untouched. Then use a wooden spoon to break it up and continue cooking until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
Remove the oil from the pan. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the carrots, onions, and celery. Sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the garlic and fennel and stir throughout the mixture.
Then create a small well in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste. Let it caramelize in the pot for 2 minutes, then stir it into the vegetables.
Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with 1 teaspoon salt. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer again. Once simmering, return the sausage to the pot and add the cannellini beans and the parsley. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the tortellini and ½ teaspoon of salt. Simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes until the pasta is al dente.
Remove the soup from the heat, stir in the heavy cream, and serve. Sprinkle parmesan on the soup when serving.

Video

Notes

Sear the sausage to get the best flavor from the meat. Start by removing the sausage from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring it closer to room temperature. Let the dutch oven get HOT before you place the sausage in. Leave it untouched once you place it in the pot for 3 minutes. The more surface area, the better, so form it into a big flat patty and then break it apart.
Season throughout the process with salt and pepper to avoid a bland soup. Crushed tomatoes NEED seasoning. Season in layers and always taste the soup at each step to see if you need more salt.
Caramelize the tomato paste. This small step makes a HUGE difference. Caramelizing the tomato paste releases an intense tomato flavor and leaves a fond on the bottom of the pan that will develop into big flavors!

Nutrition