Not only is this my favorite soup recipe, it's also one of my very favorite suppers of all! I will eat this soup even if it's 80 degrees outside. I will eat this soup cold if I'm too ravenous to microwave. I will eat this soup in a box, with socks, and in other Dr. Suess related circumstances.
I found the original recipe here, and this blogger says she found it in Bon Appetit, so you know it's trustworthy. I always omit the spinach - I don't like greens in my soups. Over the years I've tried adding in other vegetables, but the only thing I really loved is celery. After many rounds of scientific testing, I can say this soup is perfection (p <. 001).
Here are my assembled ingredients (with a handsome husband in the background). I always choose low sodium chicken stock, and I prefer Kitchen Basics. I also always try to get low sodium cannellini beans - you'd be amazed how much unnecessary sodium is in canned beans. I also prefer the Jennie-O turkey kielbasa for this recipe.
The first step is to sweat your minced whole onion and 2 stalks of celery in about 2 tbs of olive oil.
Then I add 4 cloves of minced garlic. I know that sounds like a lot of garlic for soup, but trust me, it's just the right amount. Also fresh garlic is best, the jarred minced garlic is okay sometimes but not in this recipe. I also add about a tbs of dry thyme, and a tsp of red pepper flake at this stage. When using dried herbs, adding them at this stage allows them to toast, and draws the oils out, making the flavor brighter and fresher.
Then I add in the kielbasa, which I've diced in little quarters. I allow this to come together in the pan for a few minutes. The kielbasa doesn't really need to develop color, but I like the flavors mixing in each stage. At this point, your house should be starting to smell like glorious herbaceous meat... I imagine a cozy pub after a long, cold journey when they serve you up a big pot of stew... That's never happened to me, but I imagine that's what it smells like!
Then I pour in the whole box of chicken stock, the rinsed beans, and the package of cheese tortellini and bring it up to a boil. I use a "family size" package of tortellini because I want a lot of leftovers, but if you want a brothier soup you could use a regular size package. I boil it for as long as the tortellini needs to cook.
Technically you could eat it right away. But I learned the best tip ever from my idol, the Pioneer Woman: always let your soup rest off the heat for 15 minutes before serving. Not only is it then the perfect hot-but-not-scalding temperature, but the flavors mellow and it really becomes soup.
Then eat it! Eat a whole bowl! Eat another! Sip the rich, herby, delicious, savory broth. Each tortellini is saturated with it, like soup dumplings.
And then, overnight, something magical happens. When you take the leftovers out for lunch, you discover the broth has become even thicker and richer, and you're consuming some sort of soup/pasta/stew revelation! I've considered making a huge pot of this and then just refrigerating it so I can skip to the leftover phase... But it's usually too good to wait.
Favorite Tortellini Soup
32 oz (4 cups) low-sodium chicken stock
Cheese tortellini
Turkey kielbasa
1 can low-sodium cannellini beans
2 stalks celery
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tbs thyme
1 tsp red pepper flake
2 tbs olive oil
1. Mince onion, garlic, and celery. Dice kielbasa
2. Sweat onion and celery in 2 tbs of olive oil, in a soup pot
3. Add herbs and garlic, sauté for a minute
4. Add kielbasa, sauté for a minute
6. Add chicken stock, beans, and tortellini, bring to a boil
7. Boil according to package directions for tortellini
8. Let soup rest off heat 15 minutes prior to serving
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!
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