This twist on an old favorite is sure to warm your insides. It’s just the kind of soup Lina would serve at Rinaldi’s Cafe in Compass Cove.
Jeannie’s Italian Chicken Soup
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1-2 plum tomatoes, diced
- ½ lb. Italian chicken sausage (sweet or spicy-your choice — use ground sausage if you can find it; if not take the sausage mixture out of the casing)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings (make your own with oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 6 ounces gemelli or bowtie pasta (see #ProTip below!)
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- Parmesan cheese
- Crusty Italian bread
- In a soup pot drizzle some olive oil, heat until it glistens and add the sausage. Over a medium heat, sauté for five minutes or until the meat starts to brown. Add onion and carrot, and continue to cook until the vegetables start to soften. Add garlic powder, crushed garlic and Italian seasoning.
- Pour in the chicken broth and let the mixture simmer. Turn up the heat until you get the broth nice and hot; this will continue to cook the veggies and allow the seasoning to blend. Add your pasta, stir in, turn down the soup to medium-high. Stir occasionally, checking the pasta. Once the pasta is done, quickly add your spinach. Stir as it wilts.
- You’re done! Serve in soup bowls with crusty bread on the side, and shredded parmesan cheese on top. Just as Lina would!
E N J O Y!
#ProTip
Use the bowtie pasta if you think all the soup will be eaten at one meal. If you’re going to have leftovers, use the gemelli. It absorbs less liquid and you aren’t left with soupy pasta.
