Recipe 4 - Sausage & Orzo Soup

I went grocery shopping the other day to Central Market just to pick up a few basic items and as usual had a blast. For those of you who don't live in Central Texas, Central Market is a grocery store where they offer unique specialty items along with their regular stock items. It's such fun to shop there especially when I need to be "inspired" for great meal ideas.

I purchased my normal array of fresh fruits and veggies and saw that they had a Hatch green chile pork sausage link. That was the inspiration behind this dish. The pantry items I used today were red kidney beans & dried orzo pasta. The other ingredients were a carrot, fresh corn, zucchini, vegetable stock, onions, garlic, spices and even a lemon wedge. (Not shown here, but was an afterthought that I HIGHLY recommend!)



Start your soup by browning your sausage in a drizzle of olive oil. Make sure to remove the meat from the casing so that it breaks up evenly into your soup.



Next add your onions & garlic and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes until they are softened.



Now add your carrots, corn & zucchini and cook those for about 3 minutes.



Add your beans, vegetable stock and spices. Cook for another 4 minutes then add the orzo pasta and cook for another 7 minutes until the pasta is ready. You may finish the dish with a tablespoon of butter and let it melt into the soup to make it richer and a bit more velvety. That step is optional, but I highly recommend it.





I garnished mine with some ribbons of fresh basil and a squeeze of fresh lemon. The basil added a nice fresh touch, but the lemon really made the dish explode! It opened up the flavors of the vegetables and added a nice acidity to the soup. I wouldn't skip that part if I were you. :)

Here is the recipe card for this dish:



Cheers!
xo diane
contact: thepantrychallenge[at]gmail[dot]com