Vegetable and Spicy Sausage Soup with Cheese "Crackers"

By 1For_Him

Ingredients

• 4 oz lower fat sausage
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 3 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth, divided
• 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 5 T grated fresh Parmigiano cheese
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Details

Servings 5

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add sausage to pan and cook for 4 minutes until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan.

Return pan to medium heat. Add onion, zucchini, carrot, celery, 1/4 tsp salt, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in 2 T tomato paste and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Place 1 cup veg. mixture, 1/2 cup broth, and 1 can beans in food processor, and process until smooth. Return mixture to pan. Add remaining broth and beans; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in remaining salt, half-and-half, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

For cheese "crackers," preheat oven to 500. Combine cheese and pepper and drop by tablespoonfuls to make 5 mounds, 4 inches apart, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Pat mounds into 3-inch circles, and bake for 3 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Cool on pan for 3 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls; top each serving with sausage and 1 cheese cracker.