Description
Ingredients
2 t olive oil
14 oz hot or mild Italian sausage (I prefer the Boulder brand in Denver)
2 c chopped onions
3 garlic cloves minced
2 t dried oregano
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes or to your taste
2 T tomato paste
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 14 oz cans water
2 bay leaves
6 no boil lasagna noodles OR 6 oz of macaroni (I prefer Barrilla. I run the noodles under hot water before putting them in the soup.)
Salt and Pepper
1/2 c fresh shredded basil
2 c shredded mozzarella or 6 oz fresh mozzarella in thin slices
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan
Ricotta Topping
6 oz ricotta
1/2 c grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
1 T basil pesto (optional) If you don’t have fresh basil it is nice to mix this in here.
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage. Break it up as it cooks and browns.
Once sausage is browned, add onions and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato paste. Stir well and cook until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown-about 3-4 minutes.
Add both cans of tomatoes and sauce, bay leaves and water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Break up the lasagna noodles and add to the soup, stirring so they won’t stick together. These cook pretty fast and you don’t want them to overcook. (If you prefer to cook them separately you can and then if you have leftovers your noodles won’t get soggy.)
When lasagna noodles are cooked, this is ready to serve. I love this French onion soup style with a broiled mozzarella topping. To do this, lade the soup into bowl. Top with shredded mozzarella-not the fresh variety-and place bowl in broiler pan. Place pan on the top rack and under a hot broiler until cheese is browned. Or you could use a blow torch! When soup is golden, remove from broiler. Top with a few tablespoons of ricotta and garnish with basil.
For the simple version…ladle soup into bowl. Stir in some fresh basil. Top with shredded mozzarella and a scoop of ricotta. Garnish with more basil, black pepper and Parmesan.
