By: MaryAnn Dwyer
This stew is packed with lots of healthy veggies. It’s got tomatoes, cannellini beans, spinach, onions and vegetable broth. And the cheese tortellini and Italian sausage make it nice and hearty and so satisfying.
I like to use hot Italian sausage, but feel free to use sweet if you’d rather. I’ve added a bit of cream to make it nice and smooth and garnished it with some grated parm.
Cook time: 30 min.
Total time: 30 min.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. Italian sausage hot or sweet, casing removed
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp. if you like it spicy
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 1 32 oz. package vegetable broth (I use Pacific Foods)
- 1 cup water
- 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves chopped
- 1 9 oz. package refrigerated cheese tortellini
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes, crumbling as it cooks. Drain fat.
- Add butter, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cannellini beans and spinach leaves and simmer until spinach leaves are wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Add the cream and the tortellini and simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the pasta is just tender. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
