Less of my friends are having babies and needing deliverable meals these days, but there will always be something happening in life when it feels good to give someone a dinner off. I brought this to my sisters’ family last week, after they’ve had to make a sudden move from the Palisades due to the recent fires, and I thought I’d share it here. Not only is it deliverable, but we are running a soccer schedule lately where I don’t often have time to make dinner at dinner time. I am ubering to all the sports, and I need to come home to dinner mostly made, whether I have time earlier in the day or over the weekend. This soup holds!. We’ve tried a few crockpot things, I love a sheetpan situation with a sauce, or with practice, I now remember to marinate chicken in advance, but a delicious soup like this is my favorite (not the kids per se, but we can only eat so many tacos). You can leave the soup all textured and chunky or blend the vegetables into the broth so it’s smoother (veggie averse kids may prefer this). I have this immersion blender, which has held up great the past 15 years I’ve had it. See instructions. I’ve made it both ways and everything gets eaten. Someone will ask about Instant Pot and I don’t have one so if you know them well, chime in in the comments. As for slow cookers, I think it’d all work in there if you browned the sausage on the side, but I am a brat and I like the vegetables to concentrate more like they can in a pot in shifts as opposed to being just slowly boiled in the slow cooker. I know this is a luxury of working from home, work being making said soup, but figure I’d give it to you straight ;) xoTOMATO SOUP WITH SPICY SAUSAGE + ORZOSERVES 6If you could entertain your nostalgia and imagine an adult spaghetti O’s, with a rich tomato soup, chunks of browned spicy Italian sausage, some cooked orzo and lots of parm on top, this the soup. It is perfectly deliverable too, should you want to deliver some to a sick friend or new neighbor.Keep things vegetarian by replacing the sausage with another 14 oz. can of drained white beans in its place.If you don’t have white wine open or want it to be open, a splash of any white vinegar here will be a good substitute. To keep it dairy free, just use a vegan butter or skip it. Recipe from Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Clubolive oil, as needed1 lb. spicy Italian sausage1 small yellow onion, minced2 stalks celery, minced1 large carrot, minced1 small bulb of fennel, mincedsea saltfresh ground pepper1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped4 cloves garlic1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning2 Tbsp. tomato pastesplash of white wine1 28 oz. can crushed, fire roasted tomatoes1 qt. chicken stock1 14 oz. can cannellini beans, drained2 tsp. better than boullion, chicken flavor2 Tbsp. butter1 small bundle parsley, chopped1/3 cup orzo or ditalini pastaparmesan, for servingIn a large dutch oven, heat a generous drizzle of olive oil. Squish the sausage out of the casing and brown, breaking it up as well as you can and cook it through. Remove the sausage and set aside. Heat another drizzle of oil and once it’s hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, fennel and a big few pinches of salt and pepper. Saute these vegetables for a good 5 minutes to cook them down and just soften. Add the bell pepper, and saute another 5-10 minutes to soften. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, tomato paste and saute another minute or two. Add a generous splash of white wine to deglaze the bottom. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and stock and put the cover on ajar, cook another 20 minutes. While you wait, start some salted water on to boil to cook the orzo or pasta. Cook al dente and drain the pasta. I know you’re thinking “can’t we just do this in the soup?” but i feel like it changes the texture and drinks up too much moisture. Turn off the heat and stir in the boullion and butter. If you like your soups chunky, you can skip the blending step, if you want it smooth, use an immersion blender to get the soup completely smooth. Add the sausage, parsley, beans and desired amount of the orzo in. Season to taste, add red pepper flakes if you want it spicier. This soup is great made in advance. It’s fine to leave the orzo in there, but it does absorb some of the moisture from the soup, so can also be held separately and added in with the reheat. Finish your bowls with some fresh parmesan.
