Italian Sausage And Vegetable Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 Italian sweet sausages
1 large onion, chopped
1 small carrot, diced or shredded
1 rib fennel or celery, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 c. tomatoes (fresh or canned) with their juices
6 c. low salt meat or vegetable stock
1 c. cooked rice or barley
1/2 c. corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
1/2 tsp. dried fennel seed (optional)
1/2 tsp. thyme or marjoram
1/2 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Slit the sausage casing and crumble the meat in a large, heavy pot.
Cook it over low heat, breaking up the clumps of meat as it colors.
When the sausage has lost its rawness, pour off as much fat as you can, leaving the brown bits.
Add the onion and soften it, stirring.
Add the carrot, fennel or celery and garlic and cook them, stirring.
(If you have on hand a small amount of raw or cooked vegetables such as beans, broccoli, cabbage or spinach, chop and add them too.)
Add the tomatoes, stock, rice, corn and herbs; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or longer.
Before serving, discard the bay leaf, then salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup with good crusty bread.
Makes about 8 servings.