Vegetarian Tortellini Pasta Drop Soup
- serves 4
- Easy
Pasta for supper, again? Not with this delicious twist from the authors of the Little Green Kitchen by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl
A bag of fresh tortellini is a standard weekday rescue dish. But instead of cooking it in water, try cooking it directly in a simple tomato broth or soup. It gives the pasta a lot more flavour and saves on dishes. Our kids love it like this so hopefully yours will too.
Ingredients
- olive oil 2 tbsp
- onion 1, peeled and finely chopped
- garlic cloves 2, peeled and finely chopped
- tomato puree (paste) 2 tbsp
- paprika 1 tsp
- carrots 2 (150 g/5 oz), tops removed and peeled
- celery stalks 2 (100 g/3 ½ oz), trimmed and rinsed
- tin chopped tomatoes 400 g (14 oz)
- good-quality vegetable stock 1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups)
- packet good-quality fresh tortellini of choice1 handful of basil, leaves only 250 g (9 oz)
- basil, leaves only 1 handful
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- grated parmesan
- microgreens or sprouts
- extra virgin olive oil
Method
-
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large lidded saucepan and saute the onion and garlic with the tomato puree and paprika over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
-
Step 2
Cut the carrots and celery into bite-size pieces, add them to the pan and saute for a further 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.
-
Step 3
Add the tomatoes and stock to the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
-
Step 4
Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid ajar for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.
-
Step 5
Add the tortellini to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions, before stirring through the basil.
-
Step 6
Serve hot topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan, some micro greens and a drizzle of oil.
Adult upgrade: If you’re not a fan of tortellini, serve the soup over cooked quinoa and kale instead, or over chickpeas (garbanzos) and burrata/mozzarella.
A helping hand: Let the little ones help by peeling the carrots and chopping the celery into bite-size pieces with a kid-friendly knife. They can be in charge of stirring the broth and finishing the dish with a grating of Parmesan.
