Italian Sausage Soup

From: Reflections Under the Sun, Junior League of Phoenix

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

6 (10-ounce) cans chicken or beef broth

1 cup chopped celery

3 carrots, peeled, sliced

1 (28-ounce) can peeled whole tomatoes with basil

1 ½ cups shredded cabbage

1 pound mild Italian sausage links
Salt and pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

2 zucchini, sliced

3 to 4 ounces vermicelli, broken in half

3 tablespoons tomato paste

¼ to 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and 3 cloves of garlic. Saute until golden brown. Add the broth, celery, carrots, tomatoes and cabbage: mix well. Place the sausages in a baking pan; prick each several times with a fork. Bake at 325° until cooked through; drain. Slice the sausages. Add to the soup. Add the salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Simmer until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Add the zucchini and vermicelli; mix well. Simmer until the vermicelli is tender. Heat the remaining olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Saute the remaining clove of garlic in the oil until golden brown. Add the tomato paste. Cook until the oil is absorbed into the tomato paste, stirring constantly.
Add the Parmesan cheese; mix well. Stir the tomato mixture into the soup. Simmer the soup until heated through, stirring frequently. Serves 8-10.

Nancy’s Notes: Made 10-5-09 – Good, worth doing again. I used red cabbage because I had some that needed used, it dyed the soup to an ugly puce gray color. Use green cabbage next time. Made a big pot of soup, enough for us, Michael to take home and freeze a container.

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