Healthy Italian Sausage Soup

#fit815cooks presents a delicious soup to warm you up in the dead of winter!

 

If your sausage is pre-cooked, slice it into bite-size pieces and saute in the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat until you get some nicely browned spots. If your sausage is raw, remove from the casings and saute in the olive oil as in the previous sentence. Then add your onion, carrots, and celery and a 1⁄2 tsp of kosher salt, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot and sweating the vegetables until the carrots start to soften a bit, about 10 minutes over medium heat. Added the garlic and your spices and saute for a minute or two.

Add tomatoes with their juices and stock, stirring well, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the cabbage, cooking until it’s almost-but-not-quite tender (taste a piece after fifteen minutes or so to gauge its doneness). When the cabbage is ready, add your beans and pasta and simmer until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Season with salt and pepper; top with some nice grated Parmesan cheese if you like.

Ingredients
3 Tbs good-quality extra virgin olive oil
12-16 oz. Italian turkey or chicken sausage
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
1 medium or 2 small carrots, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1⁄2 Tbs dry basil
1⁄2 Tbs dry rosemary, finely chopped or ground in a spice mill or coffee grinder
1⁄2 tsp dry rubbed sage
One or two heaping pinches of crushed red pepper flake, depending on heat preferences
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
48 oz. homemade chicken stock (if available) or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1⁄2 small green cabbage, core removed and shredded
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 C macaroni, orecchiette, or other bite-sized pasta, preferably whole wheat