Italian Sausage Soup with Red Wine and Pasta Shells

Make Italian sausage soup with sweet and hot Italian sausage, red wine, beef broth, tomatoes, & pasta shells. A rich, savory homemade dinner.

Course Soup, Stews and Chilis

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 45

Servings

Calories 373kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

10 ounces hot Italian Sausage 3 links
10 ounces sweet Italian Sausage 3 links
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sweet onion chopped, about 1 medium onion
1 cup bell pepper chopped, 1 large pepper, any color
3 whole garlic cloves minced
1 ½ cups good quality red wine
3 cups beef stock or beef broth
31 ounces Canned tomatoes Petite diced
1 Tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Parmesan cheese
8 ounces dried shell pasta large or medium, cooked al-la-dente

Instructions

Chop The Sausage Links: Line up the 6 Italian sausage links on a large cutting board and use a chef's knife to cut them horizontally. Slice them as thin as you can.
Brown The Italian Sausage: Use a Dutch oven to brown chunks of Italian Sausage, stirring often. To tell if it's done, it should crumble easy while breaking up the chunks into smaller pieces and have a slightly crispy texture. There should be no visible pink in the center aside from some of the color from paprika, which is commonly used to make the sausage. Remove the sausage to a colander and let the grease drain. Not draining the sausage will make the soup too greasy.
Cook The Vegetables: Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped bell pepper and onions, stirring occasionally. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add Sausage and Wine: Add cooked sausage and red wine to the vegetable mix. Use a sturdy spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the vegetables and sausage. They bring a savory layer of flavor to the soup. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add Beef Broth: Add beef broth, tomatoes, basil and fennel. Simmer uncovered for one hour. This long slow simmer allows the sausage, wine, tomatoes, and stock to develop a more unified flavor.
Cook Pasta: About 15 minutes before the soup is done, cook pasta shells al dente and drain.
Serve The Soup: Drop about a dozen cooked pasta shells in a shallow soup bowl. Add a generous ladle of the soup and top with ⅛ cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Tips For Success:

Brown the sausage well. Let the sausage develop golden-brown bits in the pot before adding the other ingredients. Those browned bits add savory flavor to the broth.
Don't over-cook the pasta. Pasta will continue to absorb liquid once the soup is added. Keeping the pasta al dente will keep it from getting mushy.
Give the red wine time to simmer. After adding the wine, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot and let it simmer for the full 5 minutes specified in the recipe. This helps integrate the wine into the soup's flavor base.
Don't rush the simmer. Allow the soup to simmer uncovered for the full hour. This gives the sausage, tomatoes, beef broth, and seasonings time to develop a deeper, more cohesive flavor. A hard boil may compromise flavors and textures.

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