Magic Soup

Remember how I recently mentioned that we've been trying a new soup every week? And then remember how I mentioned that I'd made my sourdough tortellini specifically for a new soup? Amazing when ideas follow through, isn't it?

When I'd first mentioned my idea of trying new soups on a regular basis, daddy went through and found a whole bunch of ideas, and e-mailed me a whole slew of links, ranked in order of how much he wanted me to try them.

First on the list was something called "Magic Soup." With a name like that, I had to check it out. And after reading through the recipe, it definitely looked like fun!

So last week, once the tortellini were shaped and set aside to dry, I set to preparing the magic.

The soup is basically a vegetable soup with sausage. So the first step was to do a whole lot of chopping.

First came the broccoli, cut into florets.

Then came the zucchini, which proceeded from the rounds you see here to become bite-sized cubes.


The other veggies called for in the recipe were corn and spinach, for which I used frozen, because it was what I had. But, because I happened to have them in my fridge, and I thought the color would look really nice added into the mix, I roughly chopped a few carrots to add in.


Once the vegetables were chopped and set aside, it was time to work on the sausage. Easy work, but messy. The sausage had to be removed from its casing, cut (broken) into bite-sized chunks and browned.


Then it was finally time to put everything together. And, seriously, it was just as easy as putting everything into the pot, pouring in some beef broth and water, and letting the whole thing simmer.

I cooked the tortellini separately so that it wouldn't overcook, and also so that the extra flour I'd used in rolling the pasta wouldn't thicken the soup.

The result was a nice, hearty, very healthy looking but delicious tasting dinner.

As suggested in the recipe, we served ours with some grated mozzarella sprinkled on top.

While I am not sure I would go so far as calling the soup magical, I would absolutely call it tasty, and highly recommend giving it a try.

Magic Soup (aka Tortellini Sausage Soup)

(slightly adapted from Suzie the Foodie)

1 1/4 pounds sweet Italian sausage

1 10-ounce box frozen, chopped spinach

4 cups beef broth

4 cups water

1 9-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini (or one batch as made in previous post)

1 (large) zucchini, cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup corn kernels

1 cup (approximately) carrots (I used four medium sized ones), cut into chunks

1 teaspoon Italian seasonings

salt and pepper to taste

shredded mozzarella cheese for serving

In a medium skillet, cook the sausage for about 10 minutes, until well browned. Drain well.

In soup pot, mix together sausage, spinach, broth, water, broccoli, corn, carrots and Italian seasonings.

Bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, with pot partially covered, for 25-30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

While soup simmers, cook tortellini in a separate pot (if using frozen, follow package directions).

After soup has simmered, season to taste with salt and pepper (I didn't need to adjust the seasoning very much - the sausage and broth were pretty flavorful).

To serve, spoon several tortellini into each bowl and spoon soup on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese on top.

Enjoy!