Ingredients
- 12 oz sausage such as spicy Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika regular or smoked
- 1 sweet potato large (or use 2 small) peeled, cubed
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 6 cups water
- 8 oz tortellini I used three-cheese tortellini (refrigerated) – Buitoni brand
- 4 oz fresh spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons fresh thyme
Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a large, high-sided pot over medium heat. Add crumbled sausage.
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Cook for several minutes over medium heat, stirring until the sausage is cooked through. Drain all grease. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and paprika.
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Add peeled and cubed sweet potato, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste.
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Add 6 cups of water. Note: You don’t need to use chicken stock as the sausage imparts lots of flavor to the soup.
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Bring to boil. Mix everything well, ensuring the tomato paste dissolves.
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Once the soup is boiling, reduce to simmer (a visible boil), cover the pot with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
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Add tortellini to soup in the pot, cover with a lid and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat. Note: Use the cooking time indicated on the tortellini package as your guide.
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Add spinach right in the end, stir in until it slightly wilts.
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Remove the soup from heat. Add the cream and stir it in.
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Season with salt and more red pepper flakes (add spice especially if you did not use spicy sausage). Top with fresh thyme.
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Important note: No salt might be necessary if the sausage is very salty. Use your judgment about whether to add salt or not based on how salty the sausage is. If the sausage is not very salty, season with salt to taste, about ¼ teaspoon of salt or less.
Notes
- Cream separates as the soup cools off. You might notice that the cream might look separated (or grainy) as the soup cools off. That’s no reason for worry. As soon as you warm the soup up on the stovetop or in the microwave oven and stir it well, the texture will get back to normal. The same thing will happen if you refrigerate the soup. The creamy texture will turn grainy (will look separated) after the soup has been refrigerated. Again, once you warm up the soup, the texture will get creamy again.
Nutrition
Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 603mg | Potassium: 473mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7916IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 4mg