How to Make Minestrone with Sausage and Fennel
We make this easy soup often. You can think of our recipe as a guide — this is perfect for using up vegetables in the refrigerator. Potatoes, kale, turnips and squash would all be excellent added to the soup. I love the addition of sausage for this, it adds so much flavor. For a meatless minestrone, skip the sausage and replace the chicken stock with a hearty vegetable stock. It still tastes great, just different. If you have access to it, fennel is delicious in this. It adds a sweet, licorice flavor. I especially love it with the sausage. Recipe updated, originally posted August 2009. Since posting this in 2009, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne 8 ounces bulk spicy or Italian pork sausage, see note 2 medium bulbs fennel, trimmed and finely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped 3 stalks celery, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash, finely chopped 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans (white kidney beans) 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock, see how we make chicken stock 1 bay leaf 3 sprigs fresh thyme 3/4 cup small dried pasta such as penne, elbow or orecchiette 1 pound baby spinach (about 4 cups) Salt and fresh ground black pepper 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for serving 2Add zucchini, tomatoes with juice, beans, bay leaf, thyme and the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, taste then adjust with more as needed. Add 6 to 7 generous grinds of black pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes. 3Add pasta and cook until it is tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and parsley and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust with more salt and/or pepper. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.
