Even though we’re based in Florida,  I am obsessed with making heavy, comforting, savory meals. Though it is technically a soup, the sausage, cabbage and tortellini makes it heavy enough to ALMOST feel like a stew. Perhaps it’s the start of the new school year and my inner child is yearning for the cooler temperatures (not really…well, maybe a wee bit) but I always start to make this dish in September.

I experimented a lot with this dish because typically I’m not a fan of cabbage but when I omitted it, it lost much of it’s depth. I use sweet Italian sausages because 2 out of three children do not like anything spicy so if you like some heat, bring on the spicy sausage! When I went shopping, I normally look for a very small head of cabbage because I’ll use 1/2 to 3/4 and eliminate the rest. I hate wasting food, but again, I hate cabbage. When I went to the store the other day they only had freakishly large heads…like, 3 1/2 pounds! I couldn’t justify wasting so much food. So I went to the bagged salad area and got a bag of slaw which was the perfect amount. Not gonna lie, I didn’t like the consistency. I want my cabbage to be more coarsely chopped, less fine. It tasted fine. Just wasn’t the same.

Lastly, this goes great with some crusty bread and if you want, some Italian style croutons and/or Parmesan is GREAT on top of it.

This fed a family of 5 with some leftovers.

olive oil

2 box cartons of Beef broth

3 spoonfuls of tomato paste

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 very small head of cabbage or half of medium. chopped

1 package of Italian sausage

1 bag of frozen cheese tortellini

Salt to taste

croutons, Parmesan and crusty bread (optional)

Brown the sausages in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil on medium heat. Take your time browning all sides so that it partially cooks inside. Take of the pan and reserve to the side.

Next add a splash more olive oil (if needed) and brown your onions and garlic. While this is happening, start cutting your sausages into bite size disks. Add to the pan.

Next empty both cartons of broth and 3 spoonfuls of tomato paste into a large pot. Bring to a light boil. Add cabbage and onion/garlic/sausage mixture. Reduce heat to medium high. Cook for 5 minutes. Add frozen tortellini and turn off heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

I find that when I cook the tortellini over heat on this dish, it gets mushy quickly and I want it to be firm.

Season to taste.