Spinach-Tomato Tortellini Soup

Lainey6605's Note:

This flavorful soup will warm you up on a cold day. It is simple to make and delicious served with crusty bread. This recipe was made for RSC #11.

• Total Time: 22 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 17 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ½ cup shallot , chopped
• ½ cup sweet onion , chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic , minced
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth (can use fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth if desired)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sun-dried tomato , julienne-cut and packed without oil
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 9 ounces fresh cheese tortellini
• 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach
• 6 -8 fresh basil leaves , coarsely chopped
• ½ cup asiago cheese , grated
• additional asiago cheese , grated (for sprinkling on top)
• salt , to taste (optional)
• fresh ground black pepper , to taste

Directions:

1. In large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter.
2. Add the shallots, onion, garlic and cayenne pepper and saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add broth, water, tomatoes and crushed red pepper; cover and bring to a boil.
4. Add tortellini, spinach, basil and 1/2 cup Asiago cheese; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until pasta is done.
5. Sprinkle with additional Asiago cheese.
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if desired.
7. This makes 8 servings at 1 cup each.

Reviews

[Chef #1439099]

Wonderful. I made a few substitutions but followed the basic recipe. I added sliced baby bella mushrooms that I had left over and sauteed them with the onions. Insead of sundried tomatoes (which I do not like) I added a can of petite diced tomatoes and their juice and halved the hot water. I also tossed in a parm-regg cheese rind I was saving for making soup. I also added artichoke hearts (quartered) when I added the pasta. It was AWESOME! This was so easy to make and I will definitely make it again.

[lazyme]

Yum! I halved this recipe and made as directed except that I used dried tricolor tortellini and used oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (but pressed them well with a paper towel to get the oil out). I enjoyed the flavor that the sun-dried tomatoes imparted to this dish, but would definitely only use fresh pasta next time! We loved this. Spicy, simple, and good. Thanks Lainey for another keeper. Made for ZWT4.

[Chef Buggsy Mate]

This soup is WONDERFUL! I am a fan of cream based soups, but decided to make this since I had some 3 cheese tortellini in the freezer my kids have been begging me to use. I considered cutting the recipe in half since there were only 4 of us having it for lunch: I'm so glad I didn't. My children all agreed that it deserved more then 5 stars (that's something I normally only hear if it is junk food related). My one daughter who doesn't like spicy food at all, would take a bite, comment about the spice, sip some water and then take another bite...she managed to do that through 3 bowls of soup! This will be on our table quite often.