h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Tuscan vegetable soup with sausages - A87794347
Author: paulh. I'm Lord and master of a fool's Taj Mahal - U176638

Tuscan vegetable soup with sausages



Ingredients

1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cups of water
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of dried thyme
9 sweet Italian sausages [about 12 ounces]
1 can of tomatoes [about a pound]
1 can of cannellini [about a pound]
an onion, chopped
half a pound of carrots, chopped
1 small potato, diced
1 medium sized zucchini, chopped
1 small broccoli crown, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
a 6-ounce can of tomato paste

Instructions:

Put the oil and water into a cooking pot [which should be big enough to hold at least a gallon of liquid], over a low flame. Add the garlic, thyme, and sausages. Open the cans of tomatoes and cannellini and add to the pot. Then chop the vegetables and add them: onion, carrots,potato, zucchini, broccoli, and celery. By now, the sausages should be partly cooked, so chop them, too, and add. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, put the lid on the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes. Just before serving, mix in the tomato paste and serve. Makes about 4 servings

Hi

This sounds like something quite similar to Minestrone, which I really like. Unfortunately I have no idea what 'sweet Italian sausages' are supposed to be. Can you describe them in some way? Or give the Italian name of them if it could help finding them? Is it something like salami?

Hi, Tavaron.

That's an interesting question. I expect that just about any Italian sausages would work. The ones I used were just called sweet Italian turkey sausages. I use them interchangeably with breakfast sausages. I could remove the word "sweet" from the recipe, if that would help.

I have numerous recipes for minestrone. All of them contain pasta of one kind or another. This recipe doesn't have any pasta. If any one would like to add pasta to it, they would probably be happy with the result.

Nevertheless, there is no shortage of minestrone recipes on the Internet. When I was in Perugia, I enjoyed a wonderful soup that was thick with beans and vegetables. A few days later, I went to Tuscany for a while, but I didn't have a chance to try any Tuscan soups. This recipe was adapted from a Tuscan soup recipe in the book "Mediterranean Light," by Martha Rose Shulman. Shulman uses cabbage and Swiss chard. That seems like overkill on the green leafy vegetable front. I substituted broccoli and zucchini, and added the sausages so as to appeal to people who might not want a purely vegetarian recipe. It worked. I had it for lunch yesterday, and plan to share some with my father tomorrow.

Hi paulh

Lovely sounding recipe, and one which I am sure to try.

I've just got two minor things

1) When I first read this, my eyes took cannellini as cannelloni ( even my spell checker wants to change it now) - so would you add the word [beans] after cannellini please?

2) I think you mean to write [stir] after you say to chop the sausage? rather than [add], 'cos they are already added to the pan.


Good luck!

I blame the spelling on Goya, which insists on calling them "cannellini." They're also called Allubias.

I've made the other changes. if you try the recipe, I hope you enjoy it.
The recipes I make come from many different parts of the world. I have a lovely soup from Portugal, as well as one from Dagestan. From China, I have a recipe for watermelon soup.

I also read canneloni at first.

Thanks, if it's no specific kind of sausages, that's fine. I must say I never really thought about sausages from Italy although I live relatively close to that country.

Hi paulh, this is a lovely-sounding Entry which will soon be gracing the Edited Guide. What we think is missing though, is an introduction - just a sentence would do. Could you explain how you came across the recipe, or how often you'd create it?

Thanks for writing it up, we can't wait to try it out at home



h2g2 Eds

Actually, I probably threw it together based on ingredients I wanted to use. That happens sometimes. I bring supper to my father once a week, and I know that he likes soups with sausages and potatoes. Tonight, for instance, I'm bringing him a meatball soup which also has macaroni, cannellini, mushrooms, and few other things. That is based on a pasta fazool recipe that called for sausages, but I substituted meatballs instead. I have about a dozen notebooks full of recipes, plus some cookbooks. I've been known to throw things together willy-nilly, but I also have favorite recipes that I follow scrupulously.

That's great, perhaps you could work that into your Entry? Something to personalise it

h2g2 Eds

I didn't know it was okay to personalize it. I don't want to screw things up.

In any event, I've just remembered where Ogot the idea for the recipe: the Tuscan bean soup recipe in "Mediterranean Light." That means that I can go ahead with what you suggested, namely a line or two explaining how I came up with the idea for this recipe.

Go right ahead

h2g2 Eds

I've gone to A87794347 and added some introductory lines. I think we're good to go. Once this gets going, I may try an entry on the meatball soup I brought to my father yesterday.

That's brilliant, thanks Paul!

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Well done!

Time to concentrate on your meatball soup entry now!

I ate the last of it last night.

Not before you took a photo I hope?