salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I didn’t add any salt because the sausage, tomatoes, broth and cheese were salty enough)
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese - grated
Directions:
Sauté meat in a large pot over medium-high heat until browned
about five minutes. adding oil to the pan wasn’t necessary because the sausage gives off enough fat on its own.
Add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook until the onions have softened
about five minutes
Stir in the dried oregano, crushed red pepper and the tomato paste
Cook the tomato paste until it has browned slightly and evenly coated the meat and onions
3-4 minutes
Add in the diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken broth, then turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes
Crank the heat back up to medium-high and bring to a boil before adding the pasta. cook until al dente according to the package directions (probably 8-10 minutes)
While the pasta is cooking, mix the ricotta, parmesan and pepper together in a little bowl
Once the pasta is al dente, spoon a little of the ricotta mixture in each serving bowl, then ladle the soup over
Sprinkle with chopped basil and the shredded mozzarella
Notes:
If you’re not eating all of the soup right away, you might want to cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl when you serve it so the noodles don’t soak up too much of the broth
Pasta will keep absorbing liquid as long as it’s available, so you’ll find that the leftovers the next day will have turned into more pasta than soup