Pizza Soup

I'm on a soup kick...I've moved on from Halloween dishes and I'm starting to focus on warm, comforting, fall foods, like soup. Those one pot meals that taste even better the next day or series of days. I made this soup on Sunday and I've had it two more times for lunch.  I ate the last of it today and added leftover rice and a few more morsels of sausage crumbles and it was divine. And here's the best part...its super simple to make. I used what I had in my fridge and freezer but feel free to add different toppings. Have fun adding your own ingredients to this delicious base made with a puree of onions, bell peppers, garlic and tomatoes in chicken broth and tomato paste.
If you like mushroom, chicken and spinach pizza, add those instead of the pepperoni and sausage. If you like veggie pizza, add your favorites veggies as toppings and substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Meat lovers pizza, add more meat and substitute the chicken broth with beef broth for a more intensely flavored soup. The sky's the limit. I made some cheesy bread on soft ciabatta with a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses to dunk into the soup which really makes it feel like you are eating pizza, but I'd imagine garlic bread would be pretty darn delicious as well. Enjoy!

Pizza Soup

(Adapted recipe from Vitamix)

Serves 6

2 T olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup bell peppers, diced 
8 Roma Tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic
3 T tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. oregano, dried
2 tsp. basil, dried
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper 
16 slices pepperoni
1 cup Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Fresh basil (garnish)


Add oil to large dutch oven. Saute onion, peppers (I prefer the flavor of red bell peppers in this soup over green bell peppers but I used what I had on hand which was an orange bell pepper but feel free to use any color bell pepper), tomatoes and garlic until onions are soft, about 8-10 minutes. 

Add sauteed vegetables to a blender and add 2 cups chicken stock and tomato paste and puree. Add contents of the blender back to the dutch oven and add the remaining chicken broth, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Heat to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce a little. Add pepperoni and sausage and simmer an additional 10 minutes or until heated through. Taste and add more salt, oregano or basil as needed.

Ladle into bowls, top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, fresh basil and some crispy pepperoni. Enjoy!


Optional:
Pepperoni Leaves
I love fall so I decided to make some crispy pepperoni leaves as a garnish to this yummy soup. But, if you don't want to go to the trouble of cutting out leaves, you can make crispy whole pepperoni by putting a few slices on a foil lined cookie sheet and heat in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Longer if you want them crispier. Drain on a paper towel and then garnish your soup. 

Other recipes to try:

Tomato Garlic Soup with Cheese Tortellini

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Short Rib and Bok Choy Soup