Sausage, Orzo and Cabbage Soup

This is one of those delicious easy to make super comforting soups. Of course I may have lost some of you with the Cabbage and if you hate it you hate it but if you’re willing to give it a shot this is a super cozy kind of soup which we can all use a little bit of these days. Made this for Joel and I and had 2 quarts left over for 2 more meals. Perfect dinner served with a nice green salad . I used pork sausage because that’s what I had in the house feel free to use chicken or turkey sausage whatever works best for you. I used a spicy italian pork sausage . I also used a frilly-edged Napa Cabbage . This cabbage is nice and soft and breaks down quickly . If using regular green cabbage you’ll have to cook a bit longer — probably another 15 minutes or so. Of course you can be flexible with your pasta , I used orzo but you can use any small pasta such as ditalini, mini elbows or mini farfalla .

Enjoy this most satisfying soup which is just perfect on a cold wintery day or night.

Stay safe folks.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 pound Italian sausage, mild or spicy remove casings

2 cloves garlic minced

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, start with a pinch , plus add more to taste

1/4 cup Tomato Paste

1 large Napa or Savoy Cabbage, trimmed , quartered and thinly sliced

4 cups Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

1 cup Orzo

1 -2 Parmesan Rinds

*grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed Dutch oven type of pot.( Le Creuset works well here) over medium heat.

Add sausage in a single layer and break up into smaller pieces, stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.

Add the chopped onion and several big pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Saute the onions for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for a few minutes. Lower the heat and add the tomato paste and continue to cook stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot. Onions will start to caramelize in about 3 minutes.

Add the cabbage, chicken stock, water, orzo , Parmesan Rinds, and add another big pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. Continue stirring so pasta doesn’t stick to bottom of pan. Add sausage and continue to simmer for about 15 more minutes or until pasta and cabbage are tender.

Remove an discard rinds. I couldn’t find one of my rinds and it is no big deal. If you use larger ones they’re easier to find. You may find when you spoon out the soup!

Taste for Salt and Pepper

I then turned off heat and let soup sit on the stove till we were ready to eat dinner. I brought to a low simmer and served in bowls with grated Parmesan.

If you do freeze you’ll probably need to add some water/stock to it because it will thicken up considerably.