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You will love this rustic Tuscan Vegetable Sausage Soup. It’s packed with fresh vegetables and herbs; the sausage adds a touch of heat; the wine and Parmesan create a complex flavor in an incredibly easy and delightfully satisfying soup!
Soup is one of my favorite ways to clean out the refrigerator in the winter. Sometimes the combination is delicious, but unsophisticated, and other times I stumble upon a concoction that is worthy of sharing.
I made this soup over a month ago and I am still dreaming about it. Every now and again I peek in the refrigerator just to make sure there is none left.
It is warm and comforting and has a mellow, complex flavor from the wine and the cheese rind cooked inside. Lots of vegetables and fresh herbs simmer together in a homemade brown chicken stock. A little crunch from the Tuscan kale adds texture and color!
I do love hot Italian pork sausage in this soup because I adore the marriage of flavors between the sausage and the wine and Parmesan infused broth, but you could use spicy chicken sausage.
The broth is exquisite! You will want to sop up every last drop with crusty bread. Not that I need an excuse to eat rustic Italian bread!
The secret to this truly magnificent, showstopper of a soup is simmering a rind from Parmesean cheese in the soup pot. The effect is magical.
The Parmesean rind imparts a satisfying umami flavor. Umami is that mystical savory flavor that adds richness and depth to a dish, and this soup has it in spades.
My other trick to a well balance soup is stirring the precooked noodles and raw Tuscan kale into the hot bowl of soup right before serving: the noodles don’t get soggy and the kale will still remain vibrant and a little crisp. The kale will also keep more of its nutrients this way. Bonus.
An entire pot of this soup disappeared in 2 days. Two people, two days, one huge pot of soup, and two satisfied foodies! My husband didn’t even ask if I wanted a bite of the last bowl…I opened up the refrigerator and it was gone! I shed a silent tear and vowed to buy more pork sausage at the store soon.
The flavors are complex and blend together seamlessly into a perfect, filling soup! Serve a steaming bowl with a hunk of crusty Italian or French bread and listen for the sighs of happiness!
Soak up the goodness!
Tuscan Vegetable Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 yellow onions coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 carrots medium dice
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano chopped
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound hot Italian pork sausage
- 1 cup dry white wine I use white Burgundy because it’s awesome. Right, Dad?
- 1.75 quarts brown chicken stock
- 4 inch rind from a piece of Parmesan cheese about 1 inch thick
- 1 parsnip pealed and cut in a medium dice
- 4 small Yukon potatoes cleaned and cut in a medium dice
- 8 stalks of Tuscan kale ribs removed and cut in ¼ inch ribbons
- 2 cups cooked gemelli pasta or any other kind will do, but isn’t gemelli fun?!
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot heat olive oil over medium heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add onions and cook until they release their juices and begin to turn translucent. Add garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots and fresh herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sweat the vegetables until the onions are almost translucent.
- Push all the vegetables to the edges of the pot and add the sausage to the middle. Brown the sausage but try to keep it in larger pieces.
- Pour in the wine and allow to boil for a few minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, cheese rind, parsnip, and potatoes. Stir to mix. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and cover. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through and are very soft.
- If a skin forms on the top of your soup when the heat is turned off, you can de-grease the soup if you wish by placing a two paper towels on top of the skin and quickly removing it. You can also remove the skin with a metal spoon.
- Dish into bowls and add a small handful of kale and noodles, stir to mix in the kale and noodles. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Really want to try this soup! Just wondered – where do I find a cheese rind? Have never cooked with it before. And what is brown chicken stock? Never heard of it. Can you tell I’m a novice cook? Thank you!
Hi Janet, Sometimes you can buy them separately or in a specialty cheese shop, but the easiest way is to just buy a piece of Parmesan that is still on the rind. They definitely have them at Whole Foods. I just save them in my refrigerator as I use the cheese, and then I have them ready for soups, stocks and pasta sauce! I hope that helps
After seeing this post, I am SO craving a hearty bowl of soup! Never made a tuscan inspired soup before, so I definitely am hankering out to try this!
Oh do, Thalia! You’ll want to put a parmesan rind in all your soups!!
Looked for white burgundy but couldn’t find it!
Oh no! White burgundy is chardonnay from the Burgundy region so it might not be readily apparent. Perhaps I’ll just bring you some when I come visit 🙂
Made this tonight, and it was well worth the effort. I enlisted David’s help by getting him to brown the sausage in a separate skillet, keeping a lot of the grease out of the soup…It was so flavorful and filling. Enjoyed the wine and bread too…dipped in the olive oil we had just received from Israel. Thanks for posting!
I’m so glad you liked it! Browning the meat in a separate skillet is definitely a great idea so that you don’t have to remove as much grease from the soup! Isn’t it great when recipes don’t use a whole bottle of wine? That way there is more for dinner! Thanks for trying it and commenting!