Spinach and Sausage Soup

By Addie

"This is a great meal-in-one pot type of soup. I use turkey Italian sausage to cut down on the fat content. We love the Parmesan cheese toasts on top...use a nice crusty bread for those."

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled ( sweet or hot)
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 lb spinach, stems trimmed
• 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1/2 cup broken pieces capellini (1-inch) or 1/2 cup vermicelli
• 4 slices French bread, 1/2-inch thick
• 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a large pot over high heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add spinach and broth. Fill one empty can of broth with water; add to pot. Cover and bring mixture to a boil. Add capellini, cover and boil 2 minutes more.

Meanwhile, heat broiler. Broil bread slices on cookie sheet about 1 minute per side, until toasted. Drizzle each slice with 1 teaspoons oil; sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese.

Divide soup among 4 large soup bowls and top each serving with prepared toasts.
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REVIEW:

Excellent soup! This was very easy to make but packed with flavour. A definite make again recipe. I used lean hot Italian sausage, decreased the amount of spinach and increased the amount of capellini. Teenagers loved it! I used a pre-shredded Italian cheese mix instead of just Parmesan, and next time I think I'll use even more cheese and broil for a couple of minutes to fully melt the cheese. Great recipe