Tomato, Eggplant and Italian Sausage Soup

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Tomato, Eggplant and Italian Sausage Soup

Serves 6 as Soupor 4 as Main Dish.

This recipe is from the Cooking with/for Disabilities course in the eCGI.

This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. It can be prepared in a crock pot or soup kettle. You can choose to make it a vegeterian meal by using the soy Italian sausage, and vegetable broth or stock.

• 3 links Italian Sausage (soy or meat)
  
• 1 T olive oil
  
• 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 3 sweet banana peppers, sliced in rings OR 1 red bell pepper julienne
  
• 3 c Ichiban eggplant, halved, sliced 1/4 inch
  
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 2 c vegetable OR chicken stock
  
• 8 medium tomatoes OR 2 lbs canned, diced
  
• 2 T each fresh oregano and basil OR 2 tsp dried
  
• 1/4 tsp each salt and crushed red pepper or to taste
  
• 4 oz red wine
  
• 2 c or more water
  
• 1/2 c cooked pasta per serving; pick a nice shape
  

Slice peppers and eggplant with pizza cutter, set aside. Slice onion with pizza cutter then lay out slices and roll cutter through again, across the layers, to dice. Set aside.

Heat skillet over medium heat for a few minutes; spray with olive oil cooking spray. Brown the sausages in whole links until nicely deep golden. Remove sausages, add minced garlic, sliced peppers, and chopped onion, with more non-stick olive oil spray, or 1 T of olive oil. Stir to coat, then slice sausage. Using pizza cutter again,

slice sausages in 1/4 inch rounds, return to skillet with onion mixture, add sliced eggplant and mushrooms. Stir and cook until onions and eggplant are slightly tender, about five minutes.

Place all in your soup pot on medium heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth and 2 cups water. Add tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook just to a beginning boil, lower heat, add oregano and basil. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Soup can simmer on low for hours, and is a good choice for your crock pot; may need to replace 1 cup or so water.

Add crushed red pepper and salt, adjust to your taste. Now add 6-8 ounces red wine.

Let soup simmer on low heat, covered, for another 30 minutes or so.

Shortly before you want to serve cook some interesting pasta, al dente; pick a shape, the pennes, rotinis, and small "horns" do well with this soup. 1/2 serving pasta per person (1/2 cup, cooked). Ladle the soup generously over pasta in the bowl. (The pasta is prettier, and will not lose its shape and if you keep it separate until serving soup.)

Serve with fresh grated parmesan and or romano cheese, and garlic toast. A side salad is always nice.

Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetables, Soup, Pasta, Dinner, Healthy Choices, Intermediate, Lunch, eGCI

( RG775 )