Debbie Butland, owner of Paisano’s Ristorante, prepares an Italian menu.

On the menu:

¢ Italian Bean and Sausage Soup

¢ Justin’s Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

¢ Cannoli

Italian Bean and Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

2 bacon strips, chopped

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 16-ounce can cannellini beans, drained

8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, cooked and drained

1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/3 cup small tubular pasta (such as ditalini or penne)

1/2 cup basil pesto

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons grated Asiago cheese

Directions:

Cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until crisp in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Remove the bacon and set aside. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings.

Add the onion and garlic to the bacon drippings and cook, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add the chicken broth to the pan. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Measure 1/3 cup of the cannellini beans and add them to the soup. Using a potato masher, mash the beans. (The mashed beans will help to thicken the soup.) Add the remaining beans. Stir in the reserved bacon, cooked sausage and tomatoes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes more, or until pasta is al dente, or tender-firm.

Remove the soup from the heat source and let cool for 5 minutes. Ladle the soup into soup bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of pesto and some chopped parsley. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese. Makes 6 first course servings, or 4 main course servings.

– Recipe by Debbie Butland