Zesty Tomato Soup With Herbed Ricotta
Tomato soup packed with tender pasta shells, Italian sausage and sweet red pepper. A scoop of creamy, herbed ricotta tops it off.
Ingredients
Herbed Ricotta
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp dried parsley see note #1
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Soup
- 340 g Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 sweet red pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can (411 g) whole tomatoes with juices
- 3 cups sodium-reduced chicken broth
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 125 g medium shell pasta
- 1½ cups spinach chopped
Instructions
Herbed Ricotta
- In small bowl, stir together ricotta, parsley, basil and lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Soup
- Heat large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain any fat.
- Add pepper and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add canned tomatoes with juices, breaking up tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Stir in broth, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and divide among 6 bowls (see note #2).
- Add spinach to soup; remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. Ladle over pasta shells and top each bowl with 2 tbsp of the herbed ricotta.
Notes
Cooking tips
- Dried herbs are delicious in the ricotta cheese mixture, but fresh basil and parsley take it to the next level. Replace the dried herbs with 1 tbsp each of fresh chopped basil and parsley. Grab a basil plant at the grocery store next time you’re there; it’ll last longer, and basil is great on everything, from pasta to sandwiches.
- To keep the pasta from getting mushy when storing leftovers, cook it separately, drain and then add to each bowl when serving. If you’d prefer to cook the pasta in the soup itself, add an additional 1 cup (240 mL) water along with the broth, and stir in the pasta during the last 6 minutes of cooking time.
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