It's a Soup, No It's a Pasta Dish, No it's a hearty sausage and fennel meal in a bowl!
How else could you possibly describe this recipe? It screams of early autumn, a time when you long for the sweet taste of tomatoes and fennel, but need something a bit more hearty and rib sticking!
This is a perfect 'make at the weekend and finish on a week night for an easy meal' recipe! If you want to do that, follow the recipe up to the point when you add the cabbage and pasta. Stop there, refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to eat. then all you do is pick up at the bringing to a boil stage and easy-peasey you have a hearty autumn meal in minutes!
Tuscan Sausage & Fennel Soup
500g Italian Sausage (Look for sausages that have basil, tomato or fennel)
2 medium onions, peeled and cut into chunks
2 fennel bulbs, fennel fronds removed, cored, and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, rougly chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 tbs tomato paste
250 ml White wine
1 Ltr chicken stock
1 can chopped plum tomatoes.
1 cup uncooked small pasta such as tubetinni
1/2 small head of Savoy cabbage, shredded.
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed (any white bean will do)
small bunch of flat leafed parsley roughly chopped.
sea salt and cracked pepper
olive oil to drizzle
Remove the sausage from the casing and roll into little balls. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. add the sausage stirring constantly until browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels to remove excess fat.
Add onions, fennel, garlic and fennel seeds, toss to combine. Cover and cook, stirring every few minutes until fennel and onions begin to soften, about 12 to 15 minutes. Add the sausage back to the pan and add the tomato paste. Add the white whine and continue to cook till it reduces. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Then bring to a boil, add pasta and cabbage. Bring back to boil again, reduce to a strong simmer. Cook 8 minutes or until pasta is almost done. Add butter beans and parsley. Continue to cook untill the beans are warmed. Adjust the seasoning and serve in deep bowls with a drizzle of olive oil.
