Italian Sausage and Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs mild Italian sausage (removed from casing and crumbled)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1 large onion (halved and thinly sliced)
• 6 clove(s) garlic (finely chopped)
• 4 medium carrots (cleaned and cut into ¼” rounds)
• 1 head(s) green cabbage (core removed and shredded)
• 2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt plus a couple pinches
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (unsalted)
• 6 cup(s) chicken stock or broth
• crushed red pepper flakes for serving ((optional))

Instructions:

1. Remove sausage meat from casing. The easiest way to remove the uncooked sausage from the casings is to slice a vertical cut down the center of each sausage.
2. Then just pick them up and “peel” off the casing – takes seconds and not that messy.
3. Peel and thinly slice onion (I used my food processor to save time (with the slicing blade inserted).
4. Finely chop garlic (Again, I used the food processor with the chopping blade inserted).
5. Clean carrots (peel if necessary) and cut into ¼” rounds.
6. Remove core from cabbage and shred. I used the food processor with the shredding blade inserted. Alternately, you could cut the cabbage into very thin slices.
7. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add crumbled sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, mostly to break up the sausage with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until most of the pink is gone.
8. Remove sausage from pot and set aside.
9. Keep the pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Once hot, toss in sliced onions along with a pinch of kosher salt and a couple turns of freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until onions are soft.
10. Add in garlic and carrots, stir continuously for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
11. Raise heat to medium high and add in cabbage along with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and about 25 turns of freshly ground black pepper. Toss to combine and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until cabbage begins to wilt and release some moisture.
12. Add cooked sausage back in along with diced tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil.
13. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, remove from heat and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes and Enjoy!

Recipe from everydaymaven.com