This is another delicious soup that I just added to my blog at sharyescookbooks.com — it’s so hearty and very tasty, and it really fits right into this fall-ish kind of weather we are having right now.
- NOTE: * If you cannot find DeLallo tomatoes, use 3 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce in this soup — but in my opinion the DeLallo products (both their tomatoes and their pastas!) are definitely worth looking for! We get them at the Town & Country Market in the Lakemont Village Shopping Mall (4989 Lakemont Boulevard SE, Bellevue WA 98006).
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1 smoked kielbasa sausage, sliced — optional
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
4 large cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
2 medium carrots, quartered and sliced
2 bulbs fresh fennel, chopped
4 cups rich homemade beef stock
1 bottle DeLallo Imported Crushed Italian Tomatoes *
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 bay leaf
4-5 whole cloves
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 cup fresh pea pods, stemmed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons freshly-chopped Italian parsley, to garnish
Shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, to garnish
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot; sauté beef, kielbasa, onions and garlic over medium-high heat until beef is nicely browned and sausage is lightly browned. Add carrots, fennel, beef stock, tomato sauce, rice, bay leaf, cloves and brown sugar. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer gently 20 minutes. Add cabbage and pea pods. Simmer 5 more minutes, or until rice is fully cooked. Discard bay leaf and cloves, and serve soup in warmed bowls, garnished with fresh parsley and shredded cheese. — Serves 4-6