It’s funny. When I first suggested this soup to my husband, he was totally against it: “No, those flavors totally do not go together!” I secretly rolled my eyes. Give me a break. How do caramelized onions, hot Italian sausage, tortellini, and kale not go together?? Add them to a beef broth and top with a slice of bread and cheese then broil it? Even better, right? I couldn’t believe how set against it he was.
Well, I totally ignored him. If I’m cooking six to seven days a week, input is allowed, sometimes appreciated, but ultimately, I cook what I want to cook ~ deal with it. I have no doubt I am not the only one with the mindset! I mean, I’m not cooking anything gross or crazy! My flavors always jive! I know what my husband and what my son hate, and I know what they love. And I knew my husband was being absolutely crazy for saying “no way” to this dish.
I waited a few weeks after I had first suggested it then slipped it into the menu. Lo and behold, he totally forgot about the conversation, completely forgot he was adamantly against the ingredient combination. And, go figure, he loved it! And how couldn’t you? Unless you don’t like one of the ingredients included, this dish is delicious! And it’s perfect for a cold January evening! Piping hot and warms you straight to the bones.
I love French onion soup in general. It is always such a comfort dish ~ appetizer or main entree, doesn’t matter. And because I wanted this for dinner, I decided to not only bulk it up a bit, but add substance that would keep us satiated for the rest of the evening and provide a nice dose of vitamins. I’m a mom! That’s my job, right?
The longest part of this recipe is caramelizing the onions. Those always take for-ev-er! Well, about 20 minutes, to be exact. But still, I always forget how long caramelizing onions take and then I start cooking and go “ohhhhh yeah, these take for-ev-er.” The problem with caramelizing onions is the risk of the pot getting too hot. And it’s strange. Sometimes I have no issue. My onions keep on cooking at a nice even temperature, evenly browning, nothing burning ~ easy street. Then, other times, same pan, same stove temperature, and the bloody things just want to burn… errrrr. The solution to this is to pour a very small amount of water into the pan and stir until evaporated. This deglazes the pan and cools the pan surface ~ aka, no more burning. And you can repeat this as necessary!
So, 20 minutes for the onions then everything else comes together super quickly. Tips? Prep the onions and get them into the saucepan. While they’re cooking, prep everything else! Some recipes I will absolutely recommend you prep everything up front. This is not one of those dishes. Prep the onions and then mince the garlic, chop the kale, grate the cheese… yadda, yadda, yadda.
The other tip I’ll give you is with the hot Italian sausage. You’re going to cook this right before the onions. I find it such a pain in the ass to break up sausage if you dump it straight in the pan after removing it from the casings. Instead, I find it so much easier to remove it from the casing and break it up by hand as I drop it into the hot saucepan. That way, it is 75% broken up and super easy to break up further with a wooden spoon.
When the onions were done, I added the garlic and kale to get the kale to wilt slightly before adding the liquid. Then I returned the sausage to the pan, added the liquids, and seasoned. Once the broth was boiling, I added the tortellini and only cooked until al dente. Then I scooped everything into ovenproof bowls, topped with bread and cheese, and broiled until the cheese was melted. Bada bing, bada boom, and you’re done!
WARNING!!! The soup is piping hot right out of the oven, so be careful with gentle mouths! Popping the bread back a bit to let the broth cool slightly helps a lot!
Enjoy!
French Onion Soup with Tortellini, Hot Italian Sausage, & Kale
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
1 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed
3 large onions, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 TB olive oil, if needed
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups kale, finely chopped
½ cup red wine
6 cups beef broth
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
20 ounce fresh tortellini
6 slices of bread
6 oz Gouda, grated
Instructions
Add the hot Italian sausage to a large sauce pan and cook over medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon. When it is cooked through, remove from the pan, leaving any fat, and drain on paper towels.
If needed, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and thyme and sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook, stirring often, until caramelized ~ about 20 minutes. (Note: if the pan gets too hot and the onions are burning, pour a small amount of water ~ 1 to 2 tablespoons worth ~ to deglaze the pan).
Add the garlic and kale and cook until the kale has started to wilt. Return the sausage to the pan. Add the red wine and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed by the onions. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the tortellini and cook until al dente.
Turn the oven broiler on high and place a rack on the second level. Scoop the soup into ovenproof soup bowls. Top each bowl with a slice of bread and sprinkle the Gouda on top. Carefully place on the oven rack. Broil until the cheese is melted and starting to turn golden brown ~ about 3 minutes ~ watch this step closely so you don’t burn the bread and cheese!
Serve immediately. Careful, it’s hot!
Enjoy!
Keywords: French onion soup, tortellini, tortellini soup, hot sausage soup, hot Italian sausage soup, French onion soup with tortellini, French onion soup with hot Italian sausage
