Linguine with Chicken Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Kale Soup

I just turned my favorite pasta dish into a soup! The last time I made Linguine with Turkey Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Arugula, and Ciliengini, I added a bit of extra broth to the sauce and the following days leftovers seemed more like a bowl of soup. I LOVED IT! Ever since then, I have had a desire to make this pasta into a big pot of soup. Last week, my daughter had two teeth pulled and her mouth was hurting so I decided this would be the perfect time to test out this new soup. I loved that it only took about 30 minutes to make but tasted fantastic. Instead of arugula I used kale because it was what I had on hand. My son opted for topping his soup with freshly shaved Parmesan and my husband and I chose little bits of mozzarella while my daughter had no cheese. Either way was terrific – we all gobbled it up and thought it was delicious. The leftovers were even more flavorful!

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and mash using a potato masher until it crumbles. Add the crushed fennel seed and crushed red pepper flakes then cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and tomatoes then stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Break up a few of the tomatoes by mashing them with the potato masher. Cook for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to burst. Add the broken pasta and kale and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. Taste the soup and re-season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, if needed. Ladle soup into bowls. Top, if desired, with parmesan shavings or pieces of mozzarella. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy.

Linguine with Chicken Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, and Kale Soup

Yield: 8

Total Time: 30-35 min.

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1 lb chicken Italian sausages
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
5 cloves of garlic, minced
8 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of grape tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 cups of kale, chopped
9 oz linguine, broken into small pieces

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and mash using a potato masher until it crumbles. Add the crushed fennel seed and crushed red pepper flakes then cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and tomatoes then stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Break up a few of the tomatoes by mashing them with the potato masher. Cook for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to burst. Add the broken pasta and kale and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. Taste the soup and re-season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, if needed. Ladle soup into bowls. Top, if desired, with parmesan shavings or pieces of mozzarella. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy.

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net