Tortellini Soup

My sister made this soup for me while I was visiting this weekend.  It was SO good, hearty, and, perfect for the icy temperatures we had in South Louisiana this weekend!  I definitely plan on making this again…

• 4 oz Italian Sausage, casings removed (we actually doubled this)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 c. red onion (a whole onion is fine)
• 2 cloves garlic (more if desired, which usually is for me =)
• 5 c. beef stock
• 1/2 c. dry red wine (we used Apothic Red, which was really great for drinking, as well as cooking 😉
• 8 oz. cheese/spinach tortellini (we used shell pasta, instead, so not technically a tortellini soup, I know, but whatever)
• 4 tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
• 2 T fresh parsley (for garnish)
• 1/2 t dried basil
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 can tomoato puree
• 1 zuchinni (halfed length-wise, then sliced)
• 1 c. chopped carrots (2 or 3 carrots)
• 2 T parmesan (I don’t remember my sister putting this in, but she may have…)

Brown sausage in oil.  Drain fat.  Add onions, saute 5 minutes.  Add everything else except zuchinni, parsley, and pasta.  Simmer 30 minutes (we sauteed the garlic a little before adding the beef stock, and allowed the soup to simmer for more than 30 minutes – it’s always better the longer you let it cook).  Add zuchinii and pasta.  Simmer 10 more minutes.  Garnish with parsley (we actually didn’t garnish, but the soup was still great!).

**just a side-note.  I really like noodle soups, but I always find that the pasta just soaks up so much of the liquid, especially with the next day left-overs, so sometimes I like to cook the pasta on the side, and let each person put it in their own bowl.  This allows for people to put as much or as little pasta as they like, as well…I tend to prefer my soups to be lean on the pasta, but that’s just me…Enjoy!!