Kitchen String: Guest Blogger: Mike DiMotta on Spicy Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Ever since I met Mike about seven years ago, I have enjoyed his multiple soup variations and seen the Master at work: changing ingredients, trying new spices, combining recipes to create these big comforting pots of soup at the perfect soup-appropriate times. He can feed multitudes which is why we often use him and his soups when we have a house full of hungry friends. Mike and I shared a tiny apartment in Portland, Oregon for about two months, and we must have had soup at least twice a week. It is what my body and soul crave on these gray, snowy, rainy days. He was visiting over New Year's, and we made sure our kitchen was stocked with the ingredients he'd need. With two inches of snow on the ground, we spent New Year's Eve day working on our various projects with soup bowls in hand, coffee in the pot, and every once in a while, a comment on the year.

So here in his own words, is Mike's favorite soup recipe.

Thank you Mae lo for that wonderful glowing charismatic introduction!

Today we are going to discuss Soup! My favorite spicy Italian sausage tortellini soup to be specific. It's the perfect comfort food on a rainy, snowy, cold day, and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

A recipe that evolved over time, the current ingredients are:

- 1 lb Spicy Italian sausage (squeezed out of the casing.. gross)
- one bag of chopped fresh spinach
- one can of diced tomatoes
- a couple of cloves of garlic minced
- one vadalia onion, chopped
- one family sized package of your favorite cheese tortellini
- 2 boxes of chicken broth.
- grated parmesan cheese
- crushed black pepper
-(optional one bag of broad soup egg noodles)

One large pot to cook everything in!

First we cook the spicy sausage (out of casing), onions, and garlic, in a drizzle of Olive oil until the sausage has been ground up and browned.

(you can drain the sausage fat if you like.. but I leave it for spicy flavor)

Then add the the can of diced tomato to the sausage mixture and let that cook for a bit.

Pour in about a box and a half of the chicken stock into the pot and bring to a boil.
(This is usually when I chop the spinach.. )

Once we get a good boil going, pour in your tortellini (I also sometimes add a couple handfuls of broad soup noodles to help absorb some of the broth).

Once the tortellini and noodles seem cooked, I'll add a little bit more broth if it needs it (depending on how soupy you want it). Dump the fresh spinach on top of the soup and cover.

Leave until the spinach is wilted, and then mix it in!

Let cool for a couple minutes and ladle into your favorite soup bowl (if you don't have one, you should get one) and add a pinch of parmesan cheese and black pepper on top!

It could feed about 5 or 6 people and it's super yummy. ENJOY!

Mike's soup makin' soundtrack: Timothy Seth Avett, Rain on My Tin Roof