As most of you already know, I love soup! I keep saying I am going to cut back on my soup making and eating because it’s over 100 degrees in this hot desert, but that has yet to happen.
I love all kinds of soup, but Pasta e Fagioli is one of my all time favorites! Pasta e Fagioli is an Italian soup that normally consist of veggies, beans and pasta in a rich tomato based broth.
Although Pasta e Fagioli is normally a meatless meal, I decided today in honor of all the wonderful big bowls of soups that I’ve devoured over the years, why not include my other favorite ingredient into this soup, Italian sausage.
The inclusion of Italian sausage turns this soup into a full meal. You don’t have to include sausage and the dish will still be great, I would suggest serving it as a side dish with a nice salad.
After frying the Italian sausage in extra virgin olive oil it was time to prepare the soup. I used salsa instead of using canned tomatoes. I find that the salsa adds a wonderful flavor to the Pasta e Fagioli.
I also used low sodium chicken broth instead of water. I believe the key to flavorful Pasta e Fagioli and all soups is replacing water with broth. Make sure the broth is low sodium and I try to always use organic broth.
After about 30 minutes, the soup is all ready to eat. I served my Pasta e Fagioli with a side of crusty bread and lots of parmigiano reggiano cheese.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casing removed
- 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 cups small pasta, cooked according to package directions, drained, rinsed, tossed in olive oil
- 2 cups red salsa
- 2 cups garbanzo beans, organic, canned, drained, rinsed
- 2 cups northern white beans, organic, canned, drained, rinsed
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons creole seasoning
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons oregano, crushed
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- extra virgin olive oil
- crusty bread to serve
- parmigiano reggiano cheese to serve
Instructions
- Mix seasoning blend together and set aside.
- In a large soup pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
- Break Italian sausage into small chunks and fry until browned on both sides about 10 minutes.
- Add bell pepper, carrot, and onion to sausage, season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and cook about 4 minutes.
- Add fresh garlic to pot and cook 1 minute more.
- Add salsa, beans and broth to pot, stir well. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat and simmer slightly covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add fresh parsley to pot the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
- Place about 1/2 cup of cooked pasta in bottom of bowl, top with hot soup.
- Grate fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese on top and enjoy.
