You can have this Italian sausage soup with nachos or bread. This is a really hearty soup it is very full flavor, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. so let’s get right to making it.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage rolled into .5 ounce mini meatballs
- 1 1/2 pounds green cabbage core removed and thinly sliced
- 8 cups low sodium broth
- 1/2 cup organic frozen peas
- fresh parsley for serving
- 3 cups diced tomatoes
- 3 cups cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 5 to 6 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt see NOTES
INSTRUCTIONS:
1 ) Roll Italian sausage into mini meatballs, each approximately .5 ounces. You can weigh one and get a sense of how large it should be. You should yield 22 to 24 mini meatballs.
2 ) Peel onion and dice. Set aside. Use a garlic press to crush peeled garlic cloves and set them aside in a small dish. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the fennel seeds into a fine powder.
3 ) Add dried basil, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher sale to crushed fennel and set aside until ready to use.
4 ) Remove core from the cabbage, cut into 2″ segments and thinly slice. If using canned beans, rinse and drain beans.
Cooking:
1 ) Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and then mini meatballs. Cook meatballs for a total of 10 minutes, flipping once or twice until at least two sides are nice and brown.
2 ) Leave the olive oil and cooking fat from meat in the pot and use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the meatballs to a plate. Add diced onion to pot. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to brown.
3 ) Next, add crushed garlic and spices. Cook 30 to 45 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add cabbage and stir to coat with onion-spice mixture. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes.
4 ) Add broth and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until cabbage is tender.
5 ) Remove lid, add cannellini beans and frozen peas. Return meatballs to the soup and continue cooking over a low light for 3 to 5 minutes until beans, peas and meatballs are warmed through. Taste, adjust salt if necessary, and serve topped with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
NOTES:
I used Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Broth Low Sodium. If you use a different broth, you may need to adjust the amount of salt if the broth is totally sodium-free or already seasoned with salt so go slow. You can always add more but it’s hard to fix once it’s too salty!