Recipe Courtesy of Gina Homolka’s cookbook, The Skinny Taste Cookbook
We just couldn’t get enough of this healthy Italian soup! It was second helpings all around when I made this soup last week–a simple soup flavored with crumbled Italian sausage and a mixture of garlic, onions, carrots, celery, spinach and roasted red peppers. The pillowly potato gnocchi are added into the chicken broth and milk-based soup at the very end, and when they are cooked they begin to float to the top of this delicious concoction. Finish this lovely soup off with shredded Parmesan cheese and a bit of fresh basil for a truly Italian touch.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Rustic Italian Gnocchi Soup’
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy off Gina Homolka’s cookbook, The Skinny Taste Cookbook*
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 14 oz. fresh sweet Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
- 4 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
- 2 large roasted red bell peppers, jarred or homemade
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1(16 oz.) package gnocchi
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, make a slurry by whisking together ½ cup cold water and the flour.
- Heat a large nonstick pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces, until cooked through and slightly browned, 4 minutes.
- Add ½ cup water, broth and the milk and bring to a boil. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, Parmesan rind (if using), roasted peppers, and black pepper and return to a boil. Partially cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the veggies are soft, 15-20 minutes. Uncover, slowly stir in the slurry, and continue stirring while the soup returns to a boil.
- Add the gnocchi, spinach and basil. Cook until the gnocchi start to float to the top and become puffy and the soup thickens. Season with black pepper to taste. Discard the cheese rind. To serve, ladle the soup into 8 serving bowls and sprinkle evenly with grated Parmesan, if desired.
Tagged: carrots, celery, chicken sausage, chicken stock, Gina Homolka, gnocchi, Italian, Italian sausage, Italy, milk, Parmesan cheese, roasted red peppers, Skinny Taste Cookbook, soup, spinach
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