Frightened to drive in the snow and ice, I’ve been staying close to home cooking from the freezer and listening to music. This is one of my favorite Ray Charles’ videos, featuring Billy Preston on the organ.
My husband will be flying in from Haiti tomorrow and won’t be arriving until around 9 or so. The prediction is that the high will be 22F and the low 3F. Of course he doesn’t have a coat because it’s 85 – 90F in Haiti. The boy will be cold 🙂 And as he’s flying Jet Blue into JFK, he’ll probably be hungry and thirsty.
I collected the usual things from the refrigerator and vegetable bin to make a soup.
There’s an elegance to Le Creuset pots and pans that goes beyond their superior ability as frying, sauteing, roasting and braising cookware. I like to look a them 🙂
I’ve been meaning to use ditalini pasta in a soup but always forget to get some when I’m in the store. Oh well. I had fusilli in the pantry and that was that.
He’ll like this; sausage chunks, big pasta, spinach, carrots, celery and leek. Poor thing, probably been starving to death 😀
Hot Italian Sausage Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb bulk hot Italian sausage or links with skin removed
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 carrots. diced
2 celery branches, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 quarts chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups dried pasta
3 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
Heat the olive oil in a large stove top casserole or stock pot, add the sausage and saute until the pink is gone. Add the onion, leek, carrots, celery and garlic, then continue to saute until the onion and celery is soft. Stir in the thyme, bay leaves, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
Bring the soup back to a boil, add the pasta and cook for about 11 minutes. Remove from the flame and stir in the spinach.
I think that sounds like perfect food after freezing outside with no coat!
I like the feel of the enamel, as well as the look 😉
I like the look of Creuset, depending on the color. But I also like the rustic look of the plain cast iron Staub.
I agree – some of the colours are dreadful and I’ve got a very nice plain cast iron frying pan, which came from America. Cecilia has one very similar.
I have American cast iron skillets in both houses, one of them used to belong to my mother. The rest I find at junk sales, rusted and uncared for easy to re-season. The ones they make now days are not worth buying.
They will last forever …as long as they don’t get too rusty.
My mum always makes something similar after we’ve driven from Spain…she says you need something “hot and wet” to revive you! Sounds rude, but mums know best 😀
Yes they do 🙂
Delicious
Thank you Ishan.
Soup lookswonderful, I will try if we have a cold snap this year. On cast iron, agree with old American being best. indeed my nieces are bickering about who will get mine when Im gone!!
At least they have taste, if not sensitivity 😀
Sausage soup is near and dear to my husband and I’m sure will be much appreciated by your husband when he returns home cold, tired and hungry.
He and our daughter were pleased 🙂
Looks wonderful!! I’m sure your husband was very happy!!
Thank you midi.
Wonderful! I love this soup. its one of my favorites!
Thank you Mary Frances.
Thank you for the recipe. This is a must for winter!
Enjoy!
Yummy soup!
Such a good recipe!