Recipe: Pasta Fagioli Soup

This soup is the super-fast cousin of Pasta Fagioli, a traditional Italian dish made with pasta and beans (fagioli means beans). A savory tomatoey broth seasoned with basil and oregano envelops its other contents: seashell pasta, zucchini, kidney beans, and sliced turkey sausage. 

I love how easy [precooked] turkey sausage is to prep: just slice and throw in. The sausage and beans made it hearty enough that a certain meat-loving diner at our table (who insists on supplementing veggilicious meals such minestrone soup with something from the freezer) considered it good enough to fill him up. We ate it with toasted bread and salad, just as the Cooking Light recipe suggested.

Pasta Fagioli Soup

12  ounces  turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced

3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2  cup  uncooked small seashell pasta

2  cups  coarsely chopped zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)

1  (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1  teaspoon  dried basil

1  teaspoon  dried oregano

1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/3  cup  (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Parmesean cheese

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add sausage; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and pasta; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in    basil, oregano, and beans; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.