Tortellini Soup with Beans and Chard
19
I don’t like tomato soup. I know, it’s blasphemous, right? It’s just that I need stuff in my soup.
This soup has a lot of (good) stuff in it—tortellini, cannelini beans, and swiss chard. It’s sort of reminiscent of pasta fagioli but a little more…bulky. (That is a very accurate and oft-used term in culinary arena, trust me).
This soup is very rustic and comforting, and all the flavors come together nicely. I used herbs de Provence, but Italian seasoning or simply your favorite combination of herbs could easily be used here instead. In fact, this soup is interchangeable in many ways—use your favorite kind of pasta, herbs, leafy greens. Whatever you have on hand.
Although fresh tortellini would be great in this, I used dried because I picked it up on a whim at Trader Joe’s a couple weeks ago (I seem to always pick up at least 2-3 things on a whim there). I used a Parmesan rind in this soup, as I often do with soups like this one. If you have a wedge of Parm (or Romano) and don’t find an immediate need for the rind, you can freeze them for when you do need them. I tend to always have one or two sitting in my freezer, although I’m currently fresh out, which means it’s high time we polish off a wedge of cheese.
Tortellini Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 Parmesan rind (optional)
9 oz. fresh or 6 oz. dried cheese-filled tortellini
1 bunch swiss chard (or your favorite leafy green), chopped
Parmesan cheese for topping
In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes and cook an additional minute. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, herbs de Provence, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir in the tortellini and chard. Continue to simmer until tortellini is cooked and chard is tender (dried tortellini will take a little longer than fresh; keep in mind certain greens like kale will take longer to take than tortellini and should be added a few minutes prior).
Ladle soup into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan.
Love tortellini soup, as does the boy! This looks great and warming!
My mom used to make us tortellini soup when we were little but it consisted of only tortellini and chicken broth. I love this amped up version…it has all of my favorite comfort food flavors!
A very hearty soup perfect for a day like this Elly!!
I never liked tomato soup growing up myself. I love everything you threw in this one though!
This looks so great Elly! I’m a total sucker for anything with white beans and this is going on my menu for next week. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds awesome! I’m going to make it this week – thanks!
Totally with you on needing stuff in my soup, which is why I always put a TON of crumbled crackers and little cubes of cheese in the bowl if I’m having tomato soup.
This looks delicious!
Ah, see, I love tomato soup, but I also require stuff in it – preferably macaroni noodles. I definitely wouldn’t turn down a bowl of this bulky soup though!
we had tortellini last night! granted it was with red sauce but we still have a lot that I can mix up a small batch of this soup.
I could happily eat dinner at your house every night.
Yummmmmmmmmmm. This looks incredible. Totally trying it.
Have you tried Ina’s pappa alla pomodoro? It’s a wonderful chunky tomato soup, and one of my very favorites.
I haven’t, but it’s been on my long list forever. I’ll need to move it up. 🙂
This reminds me of a recipe I have from Cooking Light in which they use basil. I like the idea of adding chard or kale.
We had this last night for dinner and it was delicious! I did make a few changes – baby spinach instead of chard since that is what I had on hand, frozen tortellini, and since I was out of beans, I added little “meatballs” made with turkey sausage. The broth was very flavorful and the soup was nice and hearty. I only like tomato soup as a condiment – for dipping my grilled cheese. 🙂
Glad you liked it, Ana. The turkey sausage sounds like a great addition.
Just made this and it was so good. I just had one question. Do you use the stalks from the Swiss Chard. I wasn’t sure so I left them out.
If they are really thick, I usually discard them, or just use the parts closest to the leaves. Glad you liked the soup!