Basil Tortellini Soup
This soup is delicious, colorful and quick. I keep the ingredients on hand for a fast meal with a loaf of crusty bread. It's also good warmed up the next day—if there's any left!
This soup is delicious, colorful and quick. I keep the ingredients on hand for a fast meal with a loaf of crusty bread. It's also good warmed up the next day—if there's any left!
- Carbohydrate 47.7266088823864 g
- Cholesterol 40.5966659 mg
- Fat 9.61963528321521 g
- Fiber 5.56215893954002 g
- Protein 19.8050812699314 g
- Saturated Fat 4.96414130403839 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (376g)
- Sodium 1519.60139354117 mg
- Sugar 42.1644499428463 g
- Trans Fat 1.09883849292599 g
- Calories 356 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini; cook for 7-9 minutes or until tender.
- Stir in the beans, tomato and basil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve with cheese. Yield: 6 servings.
Adding cheese tortellini directly to a rapid boil without managing the heat level causes the delicate pasta casings to burst before the fillings cook through. Maintaining a gentle rolling boil protects the pasta structure. Using a heavy-bottomed three-quart saucepan ensures even heat distribution, preventing the chicken broth from scorching at the edges while the center bubbles.
Controlling Texture and Temperature
Cheese tortellini requires strict timing. Boiling the pasta for precisely seven to nine minutes yields a tender bite without turning the exterior mushy. Once the tortellini reaches that stage, lower the burner to a simmer before adding the beans and chopped tomatoes. Introducing cold canned beans drops the overall pot temperature abruptly. Allowing five minutes of uncovered simmering lets the broth penetrate the beans and concentrates the fresh tomato juices.
- Stir the soup every two minutes during the initial pasta boiling phase to prevent the tortellini from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Rinse canned kidney or cannelloni beans thoroughly under cold tap water to remove excess sodium and metallic canning liquids before adding them to the broth.
- Scale quantities proportionally by maintaining a ratio of three-quarters cup of chicken broth per individual serving if adjusting the yield up or down.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to three days, keeping the shredded parmesan separate until serving time.
