Alfredo Garcia

Lasagna Soup

In a large soup pot or dutch oven on medium heat add the olive oil, once hot, add in the diced pepperoni and cook stirring every 15-30 seconds for 3-5 minutes or until perfectly crispy all over. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

If there is too much fat in the pot, remove some but leave about 3 tbsp worth of fat in the pot. 

With the pot on medium high heat now, add the sausage and start breaking it up, cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Add in all of the diced veggies the garlic and all of the spices BUT set aside 1 tsp of the onion salt. Mix to combine and cook for 5-7 minutes. 

Add in the tomato paste and cook for 3-4 more minutes. 

Add in the broth(you can also use water), the tomato sauce and the crushed tomatoes and let come to a simmer. 

Once the pot starts simmering, add in the broken up lasagna noodles. Stir to combine and cook for 10-12 more minutes or until the pasta is cooked through. Reduce the heat to medium low. At this point taste the soup and adjust any seasonings if needed.

Lastly stir in 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and the 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir to combine and cook for 5 more minutes.

While the soup is cooking, mix together the ricotta, the remaining parmesan and mozzarella, the pesto, 1 tsp onion salt, a little bit of black pepper and some sliced basil. 

Serve the lasagna soup in bowls, top it off with a generous scoop of the ricotta cheese mixture, more freshly grated parm, some more basil and a  drizzle of olive oil. 