Comfort food is the food that makes us feel good – satisfied, calm, cared for and carefree. It’s food that fills us up emotionally and physically.

Autumn means soup season. Isn’t a bowl of soup the best thing on a cold rainy day? I made this Tortellini Soup this week with Italian Sausage. This recipe takes only 30 minutes start to finish so it’s perfect to make on busier work days. Soup and a good slice of garlic toast is all you need. This is my recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 Sausages (I prefer Italian mild sausages)
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Sriracha)
• ½ teaspoon mustard powder
• ¼ teaspoon white or black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream (1/2 and 1/2 works perfect)
• 5 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
• 2 cups of chopped, de-veined kale
• 2 cups of tortellini (fresh or frozen but thawed out)
• Salt to taste
• shaved parmesan to garnish and garlic toast (optional)

Instructions

• Note:  Don’t skip the mustard powder. It gives the soup a nice flavour. Also, Im not one for spicy food and the tsp of hot sauce just amped up the flavour without making it hot.
• Remove the casings from the sausage if you purchased links – you just want the ground sausage.
• In a large pot over medium/high heat, add a splash of cooking oil and saute the onions for about a minute then add the crumbled ground sausage, break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the onions are softened and the sausage is cooked through.
• Now add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir quickly as it will start to stick.
• Add 1 tsp dried basil, ½ tsp oregano, 1 tsp of hot sauce, ½ tsp mustard powder, ¼ tsp pepper. Stir to combine.
• Add the chicken broth and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to unstick the flour from the bottom of the pot.
• Add the cream and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Add the kale and tortellini and simmer for 3-5 minutes. (If you’re using thawed/refrigerated tortellini , it will need longer cooking time so add the tortellini first, then the kale during the last 5 minutes.)
• Taste the soup and add salt if desired. Start with ¼ tsp and add more after that if needed.
• Transfer to serving bowls and top with shaved parmesan. Serve with Garlic Bread.

This soup is quite filling. I purchased Tortellini stuffed with ricotta and spinach but you can use any flavour you prefer.

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Love,

Jennifer