Tortellini Drop Soup

A bag of fresh tortellini is a standard weekday rescue dish. But instead of cooking it in water, try cooking it directly in a simple tomato broth or soup. It gives the pasta a lot more flavour and saves on dishes. Our kids love it like this so hopefully, yours will too.

Serves 4

Active preparation: 15 minutes / Start to finish: 35 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree (paste)

1 tsp paprika

2 carrots (150 g/5 oz), tops removed and peeled

2 celery stalks (100 g/3. oz), trimmed and rinsed

400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes

1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) good-quality vegetable stock

250 g (9 oz) packet good-quality fresh tortellini of choice

1 handful of basil, leaves only

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

grated Parmesan

microgreens or sprouts

extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large lidded saucepan and saute the onion and garlic with the tomato puree and paprika over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Cut the carrots and celery into bite-size pieces, add them to the pan and saute for a further 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.

Add the tomatoes and stock to the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid ajar for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.

Add the tortellini to the pan and cook according to the packet instructions, before stirring through the basil.

Serve hot topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan, some microgreens and a drizzle of oil.

Adult upgrade:

If you’re not a fan of tortellini, serve the soup over cooked quinoa and kale instead, or over chickpeas (garbanzos) and burrata/mozzarella.

A helping hand:

Let the little ones help by peeling the carrots and chopping the celery into bite-size pieces with a kid-friendly knife. They can be in charge of stirring the broth and finishing the dish with a grating of Parmesan.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Hardie Grant Books.