Sicilian Sausage Soup

I googled Sicilian soups when our daughter Anna and her partner Haydo were in Sicily and here is the result and what I cooked. It doesn’t sound amazing and is not a “to die for” dish but very easy and quick to cook, healthy, hearty and tasty, improving with age each day. Worth a cook for lunches or easily substantial enough for dinner as, in addition to the vegetables, it also has pasta

Basically onions, carrots, celery, can of tomatoes and some sausage!! The fennel seeds add important flavour. You can buy Italian sausages at the supermarket and if you can’t find them, use a tasty pork sausage

Ingredients 

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets

4-6 Italian sausages or tasty pork sausages

1 large onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp fennel seeds – you could use cumin seeds but this would slightly change the flavour

3 medium carrots sliced

2-3 stalks celery, sliced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 tbs chopped fresh basil

1 litre chicken stock

1/2 cup small pasta – I use Seashell which you can get from the supermarket. You could use macaroni

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 Cooking instructions

1. In a large pot over low-medium heat, heat the olive oil and stir in the sausages, onion and fennel seeds and cook until the sausages have browned – remove the sausages, cut into approx.. one inch size pieces and add back into pot
2. Stir in carrots and celery and continue to cook on a low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly
3. Stir in tomatoes, parsley, basil and chicken stock – bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender
4. Add the pasta, salt and pepper and cook until the pasta is tender, around 10 minutes. Add some more stock or water if required
5. Serve topped with the grated Parmesan

 Serves 4