Vegetable and Tortellini Soup

Tonight I wandered into the kitchen wanting to make a soup, and ended up with a vegetable and tortellini soup based on what ingredients I had in the house. I didn’t necessarily keep track of what I did and how much of each ingredient I used, but I will try my best to recreate the process for you…

I started by dicing carrots and celery, and cubing fingerling potatoes. I parboiled the potatoes in a separate pot, and in the put in which I was creating the soup; I added the carrots and celery, along with a bay leaf, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I let the carrots and celery cook for about 5 minutes before adding one box of chicken stock, followed by the potatoes. Meanwhile, I boiled water for the tortellini and cooked those according to the directions on the package. I drained and set aside. After letting the vegetables cook for a few minutes, I added 1 ½ boxes of chicken broth, as well as a little bit of water (maybe ½ cup). I brought this to a boil and then simmered for about 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes, I brought the soup back to a boil and added mini bow tie pasta to the soup. With 6 minutes left on the timer, I added a handful of pastina pasta (small little star-shaped macaroni).

Before serving, I took out the bay leaf and added fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and the tortellini, stirring to combine. I served the soup with grated asiago cheese and crusty French baguette slices.

The dish was quite tasty and satisfied my autumn desire to have some homemade soup! My husband even found that this dish really held its own, despite the omission of meat.