Spicy Tortellini Stew

One Pot Meal With Cheese Tortellini and Italian Sausage

Feb 5, 2009 Delphine Cull

A true comfort food for cold evenings, this rich, hearty stew blends Italian sausage and cheese tortellini with an easy spicy tomato sauce.

There is a story that tortellini was created in the image of the goddess Venus's navel. Whether this is true or not, people have been enjoying these stuffed pasta shapes since Roman times. A specialty of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, the pasta is usually stuffed with a combination of ground meats and cheeses.

If you're a true pasta lover, you may want to try making your own tortellini with a basic pasta dough recipe. For those who merely want a quick meal after a busy day, this recipe calls for frozen or refrigerated tortellini.

The choice of fillings for tortellini has grown amazingly over the past few years, and they are all available at your local grocery store. Although this recipe calls for cheese stuffed tortellini, you can choose tortellini stuffed with ground meats, squash, lobster, mushroom, sun dried tomatoes and spinach.

For those who like a spicier, hotter dish, try using Hot Italian sausage. Otherwise, you can use Mild sausage and add your own level of heat by adding red pepper flakes. You can also add additional vegetables to this dish, such as yellow squash or zucchini, to vary flavor and texture.

Spicy Tortellini Stew

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk or five links Italian sausage, mild or hot
• 1 package frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 family size can (26 oz.) tomato soup
• 1 green pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 or 5 large carrots, chopped into one inch pieces
• 1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Spicy Blend or cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. each onion powder and garlic powder
• black pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 soup can water

Preparation:

1. Strip casing from sausage links and pull or cut sausage into one inch pieces. You may also roll sausage into small balls.
2. Heat olive oil in large pot on medium heat. Add chopped onions and saute until translucent.
3. Add green pepper and saute two minutes, then add minced garlic and saute an additional minute. Do not allow the garlic to burn.
4. Fry sausage in onion and garlic until browned. Drain excess fat and return to pot.
5. Add spices: Mrs. Dash, basil, oregano, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix with meat.
6. Add one family size can tomato soup. Stir well. Add 1/2 soup can water.
7. Cover pot and allow the sausage and tomato soup to simmer 15 minutes to infuse the flavor into the sauce. Stir occasionally.
8. Add chopped carrots and cover pot. Simmer until carrots are tender, at least 20 minutes depending on thickness of carrots. Again, stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
9. When carrots are tender, add one package of frozen tortellini, raise heat and cook until pasta is tender. Do not overcook pasta. Add more water if necessary.
10. Add cracked black pepper and salt to taste.

Note: You can substitute the thyme, oregano and basil with an Italian Seasoning blend. Use one tbsp. at first, then add more if you like a stronger taste.

Finish the meal by serving the stew in soup bowls with crusty French bread and a simple salad. Your family will love this easy, hearty dish, and you'll love the clean-up.

The copyright of the article Spicy Tortellini Stew in Italian Cuisine is owned by Delphine Cull. Permission to republish Spicy Tortellini Stew in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Spicy Tortellini Stew

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