Sausage and Tortellini Florentine Soup
SERVES 6
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS A rich-tasting Italian soup, complete with pasta and lots of vegetables, not only requires loads of veggies, but lots of time for all the prep. For a streamlined version, we started with store-bought chicken broth and looked for ways to enhance its flavor. Hot Italian sausage offered big, meaty bites and a subtle heat. Browning the sausage, then sautéing minced garlic in the rendered fat, ramped up the flavor of our soup. While we didn’t have room in our ingredient list for celery, onions, and tomatoes, we were able to get the flavors of all three in one supermarket staple that required no chopping whatsoever: V8 juice. The juice lent our soup a savory, vegetal backbone, and stirring some baby spinach in at the end added color and freshness. Sweet Italian sausage can be substituted in this recipe, if desired. You can substitute one 9-ounce package of fresh cheese tortellini for this recipe; the simmering time will be the same. See the Test Kitchen Tip that follows the recipe.
|
12 |
ounces hot Italian sausage |
|
2 |
garlic cloves |
|
4 |
cups V8 juice |
|
3 |
cups chicken broth |
|
8 |
ounces dried tortellini |
|
6 |
ounces (6 cups) baby spinach |
1. Brown sausages in large saucepan over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Mince garlic, add to pot, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in V8 juice and broth, bring to gentle simmer, and cook until sausages are no longer pink in center, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Transfer sausages to cutting board, let cool slightly, then slice into ½-inch-thick pieces. Meanwhile, stir tortellini into soup and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Return sliced sausage to pot and let heat through, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in spinach and let wilt, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.