Recipe & Photo Courtesy of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
Ingredients
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage link (casings removed)
- 1 med. onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 4 c (32 oz) chicken stock
- 2 c water, divided
- 8 oz lasagna noodles (not no-boil), broken into 2-inch pieces
- ¼ c fresh basil leaves
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 c packed roughly chopped fresh spinach
- salt to taste
- 8 oz Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 c)
- 16 oz Ricotta cheese (2 c)
- 1½ oz Parmesan cheese. Shredded (1/2 c)
- additional basil leaves, optional
Instructions
Brown sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add onion, cook and stir for 3-4 minutes longer or until sausage in no longer pink. Drain.
Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, loosening browned bits from pan. Add the stock, 1 cup water, lasagna noodles, basil and pepper; bring to boil, stirring frequently.
With heat at medium, gently boil for 10-12 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach. Season with salt to taste. Add remaining water if soup is too thick. Remove from heat. Divide mozzarella into six serving bowls; ladle soup over cheese. Garnish with ricotta, parmesan and additional basil if desired.
