tortellini minestrone

Things you should do this weekend:

1. Hibernate and stay at home.  It's too cold to go outside!

2. Except if you still have Christmas shopping to do.  Then get out and get 'er done!  I'll see ya at the mall.  

3. Be a good blogger and bake some cookies for Merry Mondays - Santa is watching. 

4. Be naughty and eat all of the cookies you baked.  Santa will understand.  

5. Make this soup after your cookie craze.  It's got lots of good for you stuff!  

Adding tortellini to soup is no new thang to me.  I did it in my early days of blogging with my Tortellini Tomato Soup and then again in Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Tortellini which was so good I could barely speak.  You just really can't go wrong adding cheese filled pasta to soup.  This tortellini soup is based off of Food 52's minestrone soup recipe contest winner and there's no doubt this recipe is a winner.  The addition of bacon is genius, as it adds an amazing smoky flavor.  But for any vegetarians out there - you can definitely just leave it out and this would be a delicious vegetarian soup as well!  

A couple of notes about this recipe - just like any minestrone, the veggies are very adaptable.  Want to add green beans?  Do it!  Hate carrots?  Leave 'em out.  Another thing is that this soup really thickens up after cooling and being refrigerated, I'm guessing because of the tortellini.  I brought the leftovers for lunch every day for a week and just added a little extra water to it before heating it back up.   You could also add some more broth if adding water weirds you out.  

p.s. Don't forget about this week's Merry Mondays theme: Christmas cookies!  It's simple: share some of your favorite Christmas cookies by stopping back on Monday and linking up your blog post or e-mail your recipe and pictures to me at taykad(at)gmail(dot)com.  

Tortellini Minestrone

adapted from Food 52

2 tbsp olive oil

2 slices bacon, chopped into small pieces

1 large white onion, diced

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 tbsp freshly chopped rosemary

1 (10 oz) package of cheese-filled tortellini

3-4 cups of spinach, roughly chopped

Parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:  

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to large soup pot along with bacon pieces over medium heat.  Cook for 2 minutes, or until bacon pieces start to brown.

Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil, along with chopped onion and leeks and saute until softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Then add carrots and celery and cook another 4-5 minutes.

Add broth, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and rosemary.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.  

Add tortellini and let cook another 5-7 minutes, or until they start floating to the top which indicates they are cooked.  Finally, add spinach  and cook until wilted.  Add more salt if needed.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!