Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
Italian Sausage Orzo Soup doesn’t have a singular point of origin like some classic regional dishes do, but it’s best understood as a modern Italian-American creation inspired by traditional Italian ingredients and flavors.
Here’s a breakdown of its likely origins:
- Italian Roots: The use of Italian sausage, orzo (a rice-shaped pasta), tomatoes, garlic, and herbs like basil and oreganoare all staples of Italian cuisine. Italians often make hearty soups like minestroneor zuppa di verdure that combine pasta and vegetables in a rich broth.
- Orzo in Italy: Though orzo is common in Italy (known there as risoni), it’s more often used in light soups or salads, not always with sausage.
- Italian-American Influence: The combination of sausage and orzo in a soup likely developed in Italian-American kitchens, where recipes evolved to suit American tastes and available ingredients. Italian-Americans are known for creating comforting one-pot meals using bold, flavorful components.
So, Italian Sausage Orzo Soup is best seen as a fusion of traditional Italian flavors with the creativity of Italian-American home cooking, likely popularized in recent decades through home cooks and food bloggers.
Ingredients
- 15 oz spicy Italian sausage crumbled
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
- fresh thyme to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 cup orzo uncooked
- 8 oz portobello mushrooms (2 big mushroom caps chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Add crumbled Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, a generous amount of fresh thyme (no sprigs, just leaves), and red pepper flakes to a large saucepan. Cook. on medium heat, regularly stirring to break the sausage.
Once the sausage released juices and is half cooked, add 1 cup of uncooked orzo, chopped portobello, and minced garlic, and cook, constantly stirring, for about 3 minutes on medium heat until portobello mushrooms soften but are not cooked through.
Add 5 cups of chicken stock, stir everything well, cover with the lid, bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 or 10 minutes until the orzo is cooked.
Add spinach to the soup, cover with the lid and let it wilt on low heat, occasionally stirring.
Once the spinach has wilted, remove the soup from the heat and add heavy cream. Stir everything and season with salt and pepper. Add more red pepper flakes, if you like. Top with fresh thyme.
Thank you for trying this recipe. Please let me know how you liked it.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please take a look at other recipes on my fast, simple and good soup page.
Italian Sausage Orzo Soup