A tortellini soup recipe that was shamelessly pilfered

In mid-April, 2013, my neighborhood experienced a flood that has left several homes vacant even today, more than a year later. My neighbors next door were one of the hardest hit. They moved in with me and were my housemates for seven months, until they were able to purchase another home. We were a little cramped for space, but had a lot of fun.

The first week that my neighbors became housemates, one of them made a great tortellini soup that I couldn’t get enough of. I ate several bowls of it and loved it. I quizzed her a little on what was in it. I definitely want to try to duplicate this.

As best as I can guess, this is how to it. I can’t verify this is exactly how she made it, but with the questions I asked her, and my memory of it, this is pretty close.

Olive oil

2 cup of chopped onion

2 cup chopped carrot

2 cup chopped celery

9 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. basil

Fresh ground white pepper

4 quarts of homemade chicken stock 

1-1/2 lb. bag of frozen cheese tortellini

1 15 oz. container of pesto sauce

Fresh grated parmesan cheese for serving

Preparation

Heat a large soup pot. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion, carrots and celery and stir. Cook until the onions start to clarify and add the red pepper flakes, basil and one clove of the garlic. Grind on some white pepper and stir and let that cook for another minute.

Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Let that simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add the frozen tortellini and bring the soup back to a simmer. Stir in the pesto sauce and the remaining 8 cloves of minced garlic. Let that simmer for another ten minutes and remove from the heat.

Serving

To serve this, simply ladle out the soup into large bowls. Get plenty of tortellini. Grate on lots of parmesan cheese to each bowl. Now add some homemade lasagna, broiled asparagus, homemade bread, and a good Italian red wine. Don’t forget the trays of vegetables and fruit too.