The chill is in the air here in Anchorage. After picking lowbush cranberries I just couldn’t get warm enough. My boys went off to the state fair for the monster truck rally and came home with big appetites. I wanted to make something to warm us up and fill our bellies.

This Italian-style sausage and bean soup has all the ingredients I love – porcini, sausage, pasta and even some healthy stuff such as carrots and kale. This was a quick soup that came together in about an hour.

You can omit the cream of chicken soup – it thickens the soup nicely and boosts the flavor a little.

Italian sausage soup with beans, kale and tortellini

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
• 4 packed cups chopped kale, stems removed
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained
• 6 oz. dried tortellini
• 4 oz. cream cheese

Directions:

Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with hot water and place a plate on top. Let sit for 20 minutes.

In a large dutch oven, brown the sausage over medium-high flame, breaking it up into chunks as it cooks.

Add olive oil, onion, celery and carrot and sauté until onions are soft, about 7 minutes.

Pour in the stock and cream of chicken soup and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, drain the mushrooms – reserving the liquid – and chop. Add the mushrooms and their water to the pot.

Add the basil, granulated garlic, oregano, thyme and parsley. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

While soup is bubbling, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook tortellini according to package. When there are 5 minutes left on the pasta, add the kale to the soup pot. Drain the tortellini and add to the pot. Turn off heat and stir in the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese is melted you’re ready to go!

Serve with pecorino romano cheese and sourdough bread.