Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup - Vegetarian

By Greywolf

In place of meat sausages I use vegetarian "sausages" and the soup is very good - even for meat eaters. In place of the basil you can use thyme and oregano in equal parts.

Ingredients

• 3-4 vegetarian sausages, casings removed & crumbled
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth or stock
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 9 pz cheese tortellini
• 6 oz baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/4 tsp fresh basil, minced (or 3/4 tsp dried)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 30mins
Adapted from recipes.sparkpeople.com

Preparation

Step 1

Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven, add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until onions are transparent.

Add garlic, cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Add the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Stir in tortellini, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes, cook 2 to 3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Serve with cheese if desired.