Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Tortellini en Brodo

Spring weather seems to swing wildly from hot to cold. Most of us are feeling a little more health conscious this time of year but I rarely feel the urge to sit down to a big cold bowl of salad on a blustery day. Which is why soup season extends well into the early months of summer at our house.


One of my favorite lighter soups, that is still filling enough to please my house full of boys, is Tortellini en Brodo. And it's as easy as could be.

Directions/Ingredients:

Heat up chicken broth. I use 2-3 15oz cans of chicken broth plus water to fill my soup pot half way and bouillon to taste. I know, that's a pretty loose recipe but it really depends on how much you're making. Add pepper and garlic if desired.

While broth is heating up, boil tortellini according to package instructions using the shortest cook time.

Make Gremolata: Gremolata/Gremolada is a herb condiment that always includes fresh parsley, lemon zest and garlic. People commonly add salt, pepper and olive oil to taste as well but you can really make it however you like. I take a handful of parsley, a clove of garlic, the zest of a lemon, salt and pepper and mash them together in a mortar and pestle. Sometimes I just mince the heck out of them on my cutting board and call it a day. Gremolata brightens just about any dish from salad dressing to steak.

Wash and dry fresh spinach. Get parmesan out of the fridge and slice up crusty bread.

To assemble:

Ladle broth into bowl and top with cooked tortellini. 
This is a great place to make the meal lighter or heartier.

Tear fresh spinach leaves over the top of the soup. 
They'll "cook" from the heat of the broth.


Grate a TON of parmesan over the top.


Add a spoon of gremolata (more or less to taste)


Let your spinach cook in the soup for a minute or so while enjoying a piece of crusty bread. My kids like to bury their spinach under tortellini. I tend to just leave it and it wilts.


Sop up broth with lots and lots of bread. 

Hope you give this recipe a try. It's incredibly simple and very tasty.

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6 comments:

Ashley Newell said...

I'm pinning this! My kid would definitely eat it!! YAY!!!

sara said...

This looks sooooo good!!

www.StarHughes.com said...

That's a great idea! I love that it'll get my daily vegetables in too!
Star Hughes Living

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

You kept saying simple and I was wondering how something so elegant could be simple.

I need to find pre-made tortellini. This looks and sounds delicious.

Thank you for the recipe.

Mary C. said...

This looks delish! And easy. Right now I can use easy. Thank you for the post.

Carolina said...

Yum! I love soups, and Tortellini! It is already too hot for soups here in Vegas... it was "cool" today in the mid-90s... but I'll have to try this when the weather starts to chill, and I want a nice, light, fresh dinner. :)