Italian Sausage Orzo Soup (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

01 - Wild rice (100g or about ½ cup)

02 - Olive oil (1 tbsp)

03 - Potatoes (3 medium-sized, peeled and diced)

04 - Any type of sausage (6 sausages or roughly 400g)

05 - Sliced celery stalks (2 stalks)

06 - Dried thyme (about ½ tsp)

07 - Carrots, chopped into slices (2)

08 - One onion, finely diced

09 - Bay leaves (2 pieces)

10 - Garlic cloves (2 whole cloves)

11 - 375ml (or 1½ cups) light or single cream

12 - Chicken or veggie broth (1 litre or 4 cups)

13 - Plain flour (3 tbsp)

14 - Add salt to your liking

01 - Pour oil into a soup pot, squeeze sausage from casings, and cook till browned. Set sausage aside, leaving just 2 tbsp of fat in the pot.

02 - Toss in onion, celery, and carrot pieces and cook on low for 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme at the end and stir quickly for 30 seconds.

03 - Dust flour over the softened veggies, mix into a smooth paste, and let it cook for 2 minutes. Add back the cooked sausage.

04 - Slowly pour in the broth while stirring, then pop in the rice and bay leaves. Let it bubble gently for about 30 minutes.

05 - Carefully drop in the potato chunks and continue cooking for 15 minutes, until rice and potatoes soften.

06 - Mix in the cream, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, and warm it all up. Garnish with parsley before serving.

01 - You can swap sausage for bacon if you'd like a smokier taste.

02 - Brown rice or barley can replace wild rice if needed.

03 - For gluten-free, use corn starch in place of flour.

04 - Switch to sweet potatoes to cut down on cook time.

05 - Non-dairy cream works great for a plant-based option!