Tuscan Soup with Sausage & Spinach

The concept of this recipe began when I woke up one morning with a miserable cold. As most of us do when we get sick, I wanted soup. I had other plans for my sausage, a fabulous baked pasta dish with veggies, but I needed the comfort of a hot bowl of soup steaming against my stuffy nose. This recipe has a delicious rustic flavor and can be enjoyed with a glass of dry Italian white wine (when you're not fighting off a cold) and a loaf of crusty italian bread.

What you need:

1 lb or one rope of sweet Italian sausage

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup milk

½ cup sour cream

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 cup carrots, finely diced

1 cup celery, finely diced

½ medium onion, diced

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

 What you do:

1. Melt butter in bottom of stock pot. Add flour and whisk.
2. Deglaze with white wine, whisk again, and bring to boil.
3. Add sour cream, milk and chicken broth. Bring to boil.
4. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic to stock pot. Cover and decrease heat to medium-low, simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing, crumble, and brown in large skillet.
6. Drain and rinse sausage to remove grease, add to stock pot. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
7. Add spinach, parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Enjoy with a dry Italian white wine

Variations: Use escarole in place of spinach and cannellini beans in place of potatoes.