Tuscan Tortellini Soup

A cold, winter day is the perfect time for fixing a hearty soup -- and I stumbled upon this recipe from Damn Delicious which fit that bill.  On Saturday when the girls came over for lunch, I whipped up a batch and it was a hit!

Want the recipe?  Well say no more -- here you go:

Tuscan Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed 

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 cups chicken stock

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated three cheese tortellini

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup croutons

Instructions

~ Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add Italian sausage (I used mild instead of spicy) to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.  Stir in garlic and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

~Whisk in chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring to a boil and stir in tortellini; reduce heat and simmer until tortellini is cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.

~Stir in heavy cream and Parmesan until well combined and heated through, about 2-3 minutes.

~Serve immediately, garnished with croutons, if desired (I desired).

I scooped this robust soup into bowls and topped it with grated Parmesan cheese and croutons.  We enjoyed it with a loaf of crusty bread and salad.  Perfect lunch!!

This soup literally takes about 30 minutes from start to serve.  It was an excellent choice for lunch with the girls on Saturday and it would be an equally excellent choice for a quick dinner after a busy day because it came together easily and tasted FANTASTIC!  

Look at this thick wonderfulness!

I'm excited to check out other recipes from Damn Delicious.  If they are anything like this one, they will be wonderful.  We will definitely be enjoying this recipe again.  Let me know if you try it and what you think.

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