Basil and Tomato Sausage Soup

If you are wondering, yes this was the soup I made when it was 35C. The week when we had bizarre hot/cold/can't make up its mind weather.

It was also the soup that hubby requested me to make. I love the chunky veges in a soup. Somehow, it bulks it up and makes it very yummy. Hubby likes this soup and he calls it the man soup-because it has plenty of spicy Italian sausages in it. (well, he thinks it is plenty, but really there were only 4 ...the trick was to slice them up! ;) shhhh.....

(honey, if you are reading this-refer to the previous post about complementing each other....)

I had some basil on hand and a leftover jar of pesto sauce as well. So I saute the sausages and veges with the pesto before adding in the stock. The result was a flavoursome and rich soup. It tasted even better the next day.

Now, I just need to make this for our cold 10C night, instead of the 35C day.... ;)

Basil and Tomato Sausage Soup (Serves 6-tastes even better the next day)
4 Italian Sausages sliced
4 tablespoon of pesto
1 onion sliced thinly
6 stalks of celery diced
1 cup of button mushrooms sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 cup of frozen peas
2 tomatoes diced
1 can of mixed beans
1 can of 400 grams diced tomato
1 small bunch of basil leaves
1 ltre of beef stock
2-3 cups of water

Saute sausages till nearly done. Add pesto and all veges. Toss through. Add stock and simmer. Add water when needed. Simmer for around 20 minutes or so. Add basil in the last 2 minutes of simmering. Serve with crusty bread and a tsp of presto.