Sassy Soup

Time :45

Yield :6 servings

Recipe Background

Are you ready for this? Sassy Soup definitely brings personality and will be all anyone can talk about at the dinner table! It isn't your granny's soup... no way! It's a cheeky concoction where spicy crumbles of sausage strut their stuff amidst a vibrant crowd of veggies swimming in a broth that's got more sass than a reality TV star on reunion night. Hearty and loaded with fluffy orzo to ensure you're filled to the brim, Sassy Soup is truly unforgettable!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces mild Italian sausage
1 medium onion chopped
1 stalks celery chopped
1 medium green bell pepper chopped
kosher salt to taste
2 large cloves garlic minced
4 cups chicken stock
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh basil minces, can substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced, can substitute 1 teaspoon dried parsley
red chili flakes to taste
1 zucchini cut in half horizontally then sliced into 1/4-inch-thick half moons
1/2 cup orzo
parmesan to taste, grated, for serving

Directions

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil.
Add the sausage to the heated oil and cook, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink.
Add the onions, the celery, the bell peppers, and the salt to the cooked sausage and cook, stirring frequently, about 5-7 minutes.
Stir the garlic into the sausage mixture and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the chicken stock, the diced tomatoes and their juices, the basil, the parsley, and the red chili flakes to the sausage mixture and bring to a simmer.
Stir the zucchinis and the orzo into the soup mixture, then reduce the heat. Cook, with the Dutch oven partially covered, until the zucchinis and the orzo are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
Serve the soup sprinkled with the parmesan.