Turkey Sausage Cioppino.

 

My husband wanted to cook on Sunday, while I was running errands and I have to say after a busy weekend, I really appreciated a night off from making dinner.  We had turkey sausage that we purchased locally and he thought it would be fun twist on cioppino – which is typically made with seafood.  My kids, unfortunately, aren’t fans of seafood so he modified this soup so that everyone would love it.  You can always add some peeled and designed shrimp if you like.  Serve this soup up with some good crusty bread and a glass of wine and you have the perfect dinner on a cold fall evening.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium fennel (anise) bulbs, washed (outer layer removed) and chopped up
6 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
3 shallots, skin removed and diced
Salt and pepper
1.5 lbs of turkey sausage (we used spicy with fennel) with the casing removed
2 cups of white wine
1/3 cup of tomato paste
3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
OPTIONAL:  1-2 cups of peeled and designed shrimp
1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans (low sodium)
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

In a Dutch oven (heavy pot with lid), add the olive oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot add the fennel and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the garlic and shallots.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Add the sausage, breaking it apart while it cooks.  Once no longer pink and cooked thoroughly, add the wine, paste, stock while scraping up the brown bits of the bottom of the pan from the sausage cooking.  Bring to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes.  Then add the shrimp (if you opt to) beans, thyme, parsley and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper.  Serve hot with a nice crusty bread.

— Knead to Cook