Jeff's Sausage and Spinach Soup

This soup is a real winner and so fast to put together that it is perfect for a weeknight.  As good as it is the first night, it is even better a couple of days later.  Give it a try and make plenty, because it goes fast and you will definitely want some the next day.


Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

4 cups Chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

1 medium carrot, sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

1/2 can Cannelloni beans

1/2 cup Pepe Acini

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach leaves


Directions:


Drizzle Olive oil into a  4-quart stock pot and heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the sausage and cook until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.  saute onion, garlic and carrot in the same stock pot.

Stir the broth, drained cannelini beans and oregano . Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add Pepe Acini, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Stir the spinach in the saucepan and cook for 1 minute.

Ladle into soup bowls and top with Parmesan cheese if desired. 

And as always, serve with some nice crusty bread, a tossed salad and a glass of white wine.  Or heck, even just a glass of wine and some nice bread.

As a bonus, this soup is easy on calories, so Mangia!

Smoky Chorizo Soup

This may be the single best soup I have ever made.  I was unprepared for how rich and delicious and compelling this would be.  Deep, smoky, spicy with just a little bit of heat, it is absolutely delicious.  I could not resist going back for seconds and even now, I am thinking about when I can make some more.  Be sure to get Spanish or Portuguese dry chorizo.  Mexican chorizo, while delicious, is a completely different product.  The shrimp in this is delicious, but after tasting it, I find that it was superflous.  I could cheerfully leave it out and not really miss it. 

1 lb raw shrimp, cleaned

1 quart chicken broth

1/2 lb dry Portuguese chorizo, sliced thin

Dry red wine

1 medium onion

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 tsp SMOKED paprika

1 15.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice

1 Tbl Wondra, (or 1 Tbl flour mixed with 2 Tbl of water)

Salt and pepper to taste

Diced avocado to garnish

In a heavy bottomed soup pot, cook the chorizo over medium heat till nice and browned.  Stir occasionally to prevent burning, about 5 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Deglaze the pan with about 1/3 cup of red wine. 
Add the onion, garlic, carrot and paprika to the pot and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all and cook until the liquid has evaporated.  This will really condense the flavor and make a rich, beautiful base for the soup.
Return the chorizo to the pan, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.  Add the Wondra, (or the flour mixture), and continue cooking for 5 minutes.  Add the Shrimp to the soup and cook until they are pink, about 2 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and top with diced avocado.

Serve with warm crusty bread, and what the heck, the rest of that red wine.  ;c)  Delicious!