Creamy Italian Rigatoni Soup

Spring is finally here but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any cold days ahead. This is when a nice hearty warm soup is the perfect meal. For this issue, we present Creamy Italian Rigatoni Soup.
We like this because it’s easy to put together. The base of the soup is chicken stock. We always recommend making your own chicken stock. It’s relatively easy to do and so much better than anything from a supermarket. Easy instructions can be found online.
For the ingredients in our soup, we hit our local farmers markets. Selections will vary from market to market however these ingredients are found at all three of our markets. We do have ranch direct pasture raised meat from Harvest Gathering Farm at our Saturday market. We use their amazing Italian sausage in this recipe.
Fresh Rigatoni pasta is available at all three of our markets. You can use any pasta but we like rigatoni for this soup. We love the fresh baby spinach at our markets as well. It is picked and at our market within a day or two. No one can beat this freshness and it comes through in this wonderful soup.
Our weekend markets also host Pacheco Family Ranch, a fourth generation family dairy from Sonoma County. Their fromage blanc is what makes this soup creamy. Their animals are raised in pasture without corn and soy meaning it’s some of the highest quality dairy you can get.
We also include mushrooms from our markets. Mushrooms are a true superfood in addition to being delicious. We recommend having a meal every week that mushrooms can be added into. We used shiitake but you can use any type you like.
With a little bit of prep work in advance, this hearty meal can be put together in under 20 minutes. Truly something that is simple yet delicious.
The Santa Clarita Valley farmers markets operate Saturday morning in Old Town Newhall, Sunday morning in Valencia FivePoint (behind Magic Mountain) and Wednesday evening in Canyon Country. More information about our farmers markets can be found at www.scvfarmersmarkets.com.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Raw Italian sausage
½ lb. Shiitake mushrooms
1 sliced Small onion, diced
4 Garlic cloves, minced
2 T Fresh sage, finely chopped
½ t Crushed red pepper
6 C Chicken broth
8 oz. Rigatoni pasta
4 oz Fromage blanc
¾ C Grated Parmesan,
2 C divided Baby spinach
2 T Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large pot over medium heat, remove casings from sausage and place meat into the pot. Cook until brown, breaking up into smaller pieces. Once brown, remove meat from pot and set aside.
Add sliced mushrooms to the pot and cook until brown (adding olive oil if needed), for about 5 minutes. Add in onion, sage, red pepper and garlic. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add chicken broth to the pot and stir. Once the mixture is boiling, add pasta. Allow to cook in the liquid following directions on the package. Noodles should be slightly tender.
Reduce heat to low. Add cooked sausage, fromage blanc and parmesan to the pot and stir, allowing the fromage blanc to melt. Add in the spinach and stir, cooking 1-2 additional minutes until the spinach is wilting.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, garnishing with remaining parmesan or additional fresh sage.

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