Italian Sausage & Cheese Tortellini Soup: It'll Warm The Soul (W / Pics)

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tx smoker

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Apr 14, 2013
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Lago Vista, Texas
The weather the past couple days has been horrible. Cold, windy, cloudy, and raining. Tracy sent me an email yesterday asking me to make this for dinner and it sounded like a great idea to me. I've been making this for 8 years or so but never put anything on paper for it. Always just shot from the hip and made it up as I went along. This time I wrote things down as I went, adjusted, and put it into a Word document. This one kinda goes out to my good friend Joe ( xray xray ) He and I have shared a bunch of soup (and other) recipes over the past couple months. I mentioned this soup to him but didn't have anything on paper that I could share. Here we go!!

The base ingredients:
001.jpg


That's my homemade spicy Italian sausage. Put it into the Dutch oven to brown
002.jpg


Add all the canned goods
003.jpg


Add spices
004.jpg


Cut up zucchini and put it in
005.jpg


Let simmer for a while to break down the spices
006.jpg


Got some cheesy garlic bread I threw together
007.jpg


Add the tortellini. At this point the pot was pretty full and I was afraid the tortellini would overflow. Took some of the soup and put it into another pan to make room. That's why this one is so messy
010.jpg


Bread all done
011.jpg


Get yourself a big steaming bowl
012.jpg


Grab some bread, add some Parmesan cheese and I'm ready to eat!!
013.jpg


This soup is very bold, very rich, flavorful, and has a lot of complexity...as well as having a nice spice tingle. For those with tastes that lean toward the milder side, you may want to back off the spices a little bit, taste as you go, and add more as necessary. I know that Joe and his wife are into the healthy side of eating and he does a lot of soups that are made sans the meat. This would certainly stand on it's own without the sausage so if you're into healthy stuff, it can be nixed. Same with the peppers. Between the cayenne, black pepper, and crushed red pepper, this does have a bit of a glow to it. Not over the top by any means but it'd kill my family that lives in KC :emoji_anguished: They are wimps where spice is concerned. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground Italian sausage
4 cans beef broth
3 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 can green beans drained
1 zucchini sliced, then slices quartered
1 ½ t oregano
½ t basil
1 T garlic powder
½ t black pepper
2 t minced onions
½ t crushed red pepper
1 ½ t salt
¼ t cayenne pepper

This was made for Tracy who really likes as much broth as she can get. You could also back off with the tomatoes and beef broth to make it heartier but if so, I'd recommend backing off the spices too. This has a ton of flavor and it may be overpowering to drop the canned goods but not the spices.

Got something really crazy on the agenda for dinner tonight,
Robert
 
Looks and sounds great Robert thanks for sharing! Also something that could be thrown together fairly quickly. Do you steam the zucchini prior to adding?
 
Looks hearty and delicious! I bet that sausage is very tasty in it.

You are correct on all counts and thank you!! Now we just need to get you to pull the trigger and start making sausage...and a few other things I've seen you state recently that you need to get on board with :emoji_laughing:

Stirring the pot a little,
Robert
 
Looks and sounds great Robert thanks for sharing! Also something that could be thrown together fairly quickly. Do you steam the zucchini prior to adding?

Appreciate it John, thank you. I don't try to make it quick but suppose it could be. As with anything Italian, I like to give it time for the flavors to really come together. Typically I make it early in the afternoon, turn the heat off so it can temper a few hours, then re-heat it just before serving. All food Italian is always better the next day :emoji_wink:

I do not steam the zucchini. Heck, I can barely remember to wash it before slicing. I just cut it up and throw it in the pot.

Robert
 
everything thing looks great, I can go for a bowl and a hunk of that bread

In my best game show host's voice: WELL COME ON DOWN!! I made a big batch of this so we could put it in single serve containers for Tracy to take to work for her lunches. There's plenty!! I might have to whip up another batch of bread though....

Off to the bakery for Jim,
Robert
 
That looks like a hearty soup. I'll need to give that a try. Thanks for sharing.

It's really good Steve. I really enjoy the depth and complexity of the flavors. There's a lot going on here and you get this cornucopia of flavors rolling across the palette as you're eating it. To me, food that is one-dimensional is kinda boring :emoji_wink:

Unlike your spicy brine....WHOA,
Robert
 
It's really good Steve. I really enjoy the depth and complexity of the flavors. There's a lot going on here and you get this cornucopia of flavors rolling across the palette as you're eating it. To me, food that is one-dimensional is kinda boring :emoji_wink:

Unlike your spicy brine....WHOA,
Robert

Haha, that brine is something alright!
 
Oh ya!! I had a couple of pickled hard boiled eggs a little while ago and they are nothing short of amazing!! I could live off those things :emoji_laughing:

Robert

I can only eat pickled eggs when the wife isn't around.She can't stand the smell of them. So, if I want to be left alone..... The two batches I just made are fantastic by the way. The brine that has V8 juice in it really puts a unique flavor to them. Very good.
 
The brine that has V8 juice in it really puts a unique flavor to them. Very good.

God I wish you hadn't told me that. I LOVE hard boiled eggs and have 3 dozen of them in your brine now. The first batch was only a dozen as a trial. They were amazing so did a big batch last time. If I put another jar of eggs in the fridge right now, I'l likely to catch holy Hell for it. Tracy doesn't like hard boiled eggs either.

Do I have room for a 5th fridge?
Robert
 
God I wish you hadn't told me that. I LOVE hard boiled eggs and have 3 dozen of them in your brine now. The first batch was only a dozen as a trial. They were amazing so did a big batch last time. If I put another jar of eggs in the fridge right now, I'l likely to catch holy Hell for it. Tracy doesn't like hard boiled eggs either.

Do I have room for a 5th fridge?
Robert

Check it out:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-this-brine-before.291817/page-2#post-2012893
 
Looks awesome Robert! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I’ll be making this soon, right now it’s warmer here in PA than TX....but with rain and a tornado watch.

Looking forward to it with a big piece of crusty bread!
 
You are correct on all counts and thank you!! Now we just need to get you to pull the trigger and start making sausage...and a few other things I've seen you state recently that you need to get on board with :emoji_laughing:

Stirring the pot a little,
Robert

LOL you are right , my to do project list grows daily after reading her. I have dipped my toe in and made breakfast sausage patties twice this week. May actually make bratwurst patties this weekend. Right now I also have 20 lbs. of buckboard brining and about 10 lbs. of loin for Canadian bacon.
 
The weather the past couple days has been horrible. Cold, windy, cloudy, and raining. Tracy sent me an email yesterday asking me to make this for dinner and it sounded like a great idea to me. I've been making this for 8 years or so but never put anything on paper for it. Always just shot from the hip and made it up as I went along. This time I wrote things down as I went, adjusted, and put it into a Word document. This one kinda goes out to my good friend Joe ( xray xray ) He and I have shared a bunch of soup (and other) recipes over the past couple months. I mentioned this soup to him but didn't have anything on paper that I could share. Here we go!!

The base ingredients:
View attachment 409873

That's my homemade spicy Italian sausage. Put it into the Dutch oven to brown
View attachment 409874

Add all the canned goods
View attachment 409875

Add spices
View attachment 409876

Cut up zucchini and put it in
View attachment 409877

Let simmer for a while to break down the spices
View attachment 409878

Got some cheesy garlic bread I threw together
View attachment 409879

Add the tortellini. At this point the pot was pretty full and I was afraid the tortellini would overflow. Took some of the soup and put it into another pan to make room. That's why this one is so messy
View attachment 409880

Bread all done
View attachment 409881

Get yourself a big steaming bowl
View attachment 409882

Grab some bread, add some Parmesan cheese and I'm ready to eat!!
View attachment 409883

This soup is very bold, very rich, flavorful, and has a lot of complexity...as well as having a nice spice tingle. For those with tastes that lean toward the milder side, you may want to back off the spices a little bit, taste as you go, and add more as necessary. I know that Joe and his wife are into the healthy side of eating and he does a lot of soups that are made sans the meat. This would certainly stand on it's own without the sausage so if you're into healthy stuff, it can be nixed. Same with the peppers. Between the cayenne, black pepper, and crushed red pepper, this does have a bit of a glow to it. Not over the top by any means but it'd kill my family that lives in KC :emoji_anguished: They are wimps where spice is concerned. Here is the recipe:

1 lb ground Italian sausage
4 cans beef broth
3 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 can green beans drained
1 zucchini sliced, then slices quartered
1 ½ t oregano
½ t basil
1 T garlic powder
½ t black pepper
2 t minced onions
½ t crushed red pepper
1 ½ t salt
¼ t cayenne pepper

This was made for Tracy who really likes as much broth as she can get. You could also back off with the tomatoes and beef broth to make it heartier but if so, I'd recommend backing off the spices too. This has a ton of flavor and it may be overpowering to drop the canned goods but not the spices.

Got something really crazy on the agenda for dinner tonight,
Robert
Golly gee, that sounds hot.
Dave, hair south of K.C.
 
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