Lasagna Soup

1. Prep your veggies: Use a food processor to quickly mince your onions, celery, and carrots. Chop 1 onion into quarters, peel 2 large carrots and lop off the ends, and cut 2 stalks of celery into a few pieces.
2. Add it all to a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the veggies are uniformly chopped. There will always be a couple pieces that refuse to be chopped, pull them out and use your knife to finish the job. The reason I like to use a food processor is because we want these veggies chopped very small.
3. If you don't have a food processor, chop the onion, carrots, and veggies by hand into a fairly small mince.
4. Make the soup: Heat a large (6 quart) soup pot over medium heat. When it's hot, add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onions, celery, and carrots.
5. Season the veggies with 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or sea salt). Add 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
6. If you love fennel (it's optional), add 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed to a ziplock bag and crush it with a rolling pin. Add to the veggies.
7. Let the veggies saute on medium heat with the spices for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender.
8. Rosemary and garlic. Meanwhile, remove the rosemary from the stems. Finely chop all the spindly leaves. You need about 1 tablespoon. Smash and mince 6 cloves of garlic. Add the rosemary and garlic to the pot with the veggies. If it's starting to stick and look dry, add a little extra oil. Saute for 1 minute, until fragrant.
9. Immediately add 1 pound mild Italian sausage. Saute for another 6-8 minutes until the sausage is fully cooked, breaking it up with a spoon.
10. Reduce wine: Add 1 cup white wine (I use cooking wine), 1 cup cream (sometimes labeled heavy cream or whipping cream), and the 6-ounce can tomato paste. Stir it all together and turn the heat to medium high to bring to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat back down to medium, or wherever it needs to be to maintain a low bubble. Let cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and the mixture is thick.
11. Add a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 8 cups of water, 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon base, and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium or medium low to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.
12. Make the ricotta topping: In a medium bowl, add 1 pound ricotta cheese, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Stir it all together. Set aside until you're ready to serve.
13. Boil the lasagna noodles.* Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil, and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add 9 lasagna noodles. Cook, stirring, according to package instructions, usually it's about 8-12 minutes. Do NOT overcook. You want these noodles very al dente, since they will be sitting in soup and will keep absorbing liquid. We don't want them soggy. When they are done cooking, drain the water and drizzle the noodles with oil. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
14. Serve the soup. Add 1 or 2 cooked lasagna noodles to a bowl. Ladle the soup over the noodles. Top with a healthy scoop of the ricotta mixture. Healthy, I say! Sprinkle with mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese. Garnish with basil. Devour with crusty French bread, Garlic Bread, or Breadsticks!
15. Storage: Store the noodles separate from the soup. Keep noodles and soup covered in the fridge for up to 5-7 days; follow your nose.
16. Freezer: To freeze leftovers, place any cooled, cooked noodles in a ziplock freezer bag. You can put parchment paper between layers if you're worried about them sticking. The soup, ricotta mixture, and even the mozzarella can all be frozen in their own separate freezer ziplock bag. Make sure with each bag to squeeze out as much air as possible, seal, and then place in the freezer. The bags will be good there for about 2-3 months. See post for thawing tips.

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

1. Follow the instructions as written, up through reducing the wine, cream, and tomato paste for 5 minutes. Once this mixture is reduced and like a paste, add it to a crock pot.
2. Add a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 8 cups of water, 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon base, and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Stir. Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 4-8 hours.
3. Follow the recipe instructions for boiling the noodles and making the ricotta mixture. (If you really don't want to boil the noodles separate, add them to the crock pot and cook an extra 1-2 hours, until al dente.)
4. Serve the soup. Add 1 or 2 cooked lasagna noodles to a bowl. Ladle the soup over the noodles. Top with a healthy scoop of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese. Garnish with basil. Devour with crusty French bread, Garlic Bread, or Breadsticks!