Chicken Tortellini Soup
I always make this soup after Thanksgiving with my leftover turkey. So easy and so good on those chilly days when a bowl of soup with a big thick slice of Italian bakery bread is just what you need. Tastes like it took all day to make it!
I always make this soup after Thanksgiving with my leftover turkey. So easy and so good on those chilly days when a bowl of soup with a big thick slice of Italian bakery bread is just what you need. Tastes like it took all day to make it!
- Carbohydrate 15.2370969276633 g
- Cholesterol 44.380250001168 mg
- Fat 5.54244667967267 g
- Fiber 1.79373834553416 g
- Protein 17.6304434348539 g
- Saturated Fat 1.95747891016229 g
- Serving Size 1 1 cup (293g)
- Sodium 700.944467192011 mg
- Sugar 13.4433585821292 g
- Trans Fat 0.914745753811253 g
- Calories 182 calories
Step-by-step
- Sweat onion, celery and carrots in 2 tbsp olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat for 10 minutes
- Stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil at medium-high heat
- Add the chicken and tortellini, reduce heat to simmer until tortellini is cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook tortellini or they will get "mushy"!
- Just before serving, stir in fresh spinach and let simmer for a minute.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
How large should the stockpot actually be when simmering eight cups of broth alongside a pound of pasta and assorted aromatics? A six-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stainless steel stockpot provides the necessary headspace to prevent vigorous boiling from sloshing liquid onto the burner while maintaining even heat distribution across the base. Thin aluminum vessels often create hot spots that scorch the diced onion and sliced celery during the initial ten-minute sweating phase, imparting a bitter flavor to the entire batch. Using a wide-diameter pot rather than a narrow one increases surface evaporation, which concentrates the chicken broth slightly faster as the vegetables soften over medium heat.
Thermal Dynamics of Pasta Hydration
Refrigerated cheese tortellini requires precise thermal control because the pasta starch gelatinizes rapidly between 190°F and 212°F. Dropping the filled pasta into a rolling boil risks rupturing the delicate dough wrappers before the interior cheese filling reaches a food-safe temperature. Maintaining a gentle simmer around 200°F allows the heat to penetrate the pasta layers evenly during the six to eight minute cooking window without causing the outer dough to dissolve into a pasty slurry. Fresh baby spinach added in the final sixty seconds wilts instantly as residual thermal energy breaks down its cellular walls, retaining a vibrant green hue without turning drab.Preventing Starch Degradation
Overcooking the tortellini remains the single most destructive error home cooks make, leading directly to structural collapse and cloudy broth. Storing leftovers safely requires chilling the soup rapidly within two hours in shallow airtight containers to keep the internal temperature below 40°F.
