CBSi may earn an affiliate commission if you purchase something through featured links below
Rach makes a soup 'n' sandwich combo, perfect for dunking, using a creamy, sausage-laced tomato soup and easy, cheesy flatbread pizza.
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage with fennel, cut from casing
- 1 round tablespoon Calabrian chili paste or 2 teaspoons chili flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, chopped or grated
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 jar passata or 28-ounce can Italian crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
- 3 cups chicken bone broth or stock
- 1 chunk rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, optional
- One 14-ounce can cannellini beans, lightly drained
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- A handful of basil leaves, torn
- 2 bulbs garlic, cut to expose cloves, dress with a little EVOO and salt and pepper, roast in foil pouch for about 35 minutes at 400˚F, cool and paste
- 3 cups fresh ricotta
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 4 garlic naan or other flatbread of choice
- 4 cups shredded Mozzarella, Provo or Scamorza
For the soup, heat EVOO in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat and brown and crumble the sausage into very small bits. Stir in the chili paste. Add garlic and stir, add wine and let it absorb. Add tomatoes, broth, rind, beans, salt and pepper, bring to bubble and simmer to thicken a bit and let flavors combine. Reduce heat to low and add the cream, stir in basil.
For the pizza, preheat oven to 450˚F with rack one above center.
Combine garlic and ricotta with thyme, zest, salt, pepper and ¼ cup Parm.
Heat a griddle pan or large cast-iron skillet and add a splash of water, blister bread and turn, blister another 45 seconds and remove to foil-lined baking sheets.
Slather breads with ricotta mixture and top with mozzarella and remaining parm. Bake to brown and bubbly.
