Warming Italian Sausage And Tortellini Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb lean Italian sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 cup red wine
3 cups stock (I use beef)
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 zucchini, finely diced
10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
10 ounces fresh tortellini (I prefer four cheese for this dish)
freshly shaved parmesan cheese (optional topping)

Preparation

In a large saucepan, cook the sausage for 5 minutes over a medium heat, mashing it up with a spatula (if using very lean sausage you may need to add a little cooking spray).
Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add the red wine and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the beef stock, carrots, zucchini, basil and chopped tomatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer, loosely covered, for 30 minutes.
Add the tortellini and cook for a further 2-5 minutes, until the tortellini is cooked but not overdone.
Remove from the heat and serve, topped with freshly shaved parmesan cheese if desired.