Soup is so much fun, especially with alphabet pasta—it’s the perfect excuse for playing with your food.
I found an interesting sausage at Trader Joe’s recently. I think it’s meant to taste like Thanksgiving dressing; it doesn’t quite, at least not to me. However, I really liked it and made a comforting soup from it.
Of course, you can use any kind of sausage you like, and almost any would work well. I added lots of veggies to the soup, and the small pasta made it feel like comfort food. Just what we need on a day like today!
Alphabet Vegetable Soup with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1-½ Tbsp olive oil, divided use
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 stalk celery, small dice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4-5 sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 large carrot, small dice
- ½ green bell pepper, small dice
- 16 oz chicken or veggie stock, broth, or bone broth
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 lb fully-cooked chicken sausage, any kind
- 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
- ¼ lb green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ear of corn, kernels removed
- Salt & pepper to taste
- ¼ cup alphabet pasta (or any small pasta)
Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot and heat until shimmering. Lay the sausages down and cook over medium heat until golden brown, turning to cook all sides. Remove the sausage and allow it to cool on a cutting board. Add the remaining olive oil, shallot, and the onion, cooking until translucent. Next, add the celery, carrot, bell pepper, mushrooms, sage, and thyme to the pot, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Lastly, add the garlic and cook for another minute. While the veggies sauté, slice the sausage into small coins and add it to the pot, stirring.
Pour in whichever broth you are using, along with the tomatoes. Stir again, then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the corn and green beans and cook until just tender.
In a small pan of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for about 10 minutes, then drain and add to the soup.
Give it another good stir, then ladle the soup into bowls.
Makes about 6-8 servings.
