Sausage Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

• 45ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 340g–455g fully cooked chicken sausage, any flavor, cut into 1.5cm pieces
• 1 large fennel, bulb coarsely chopped, stalks thinly sliced, fronds finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1.4L chicken broth
• 250g chopped vegetables, such as snap or snow peas, green beans, asparagus, kale, spinach, escarole or frozen peas
• About 285g tortellini, fresh or frozen cheese, spinach or mushroom
• Grated Parmesan, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned and crisp all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the chopped fennel bulb and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, scraping up the browned bits as you go, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the broth is flavorful, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the tortellini and cook according to the package directions. Add the chopped vegetables and sliced fennel stalks during the final 3 minutes; for quick-cooking tortellini, add them with the pasta.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in chopped fennel fronds to taste. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan and black pepper.