Two ways with Tortellini

I bought a 20 oz package of FRESH tortellini (from the refrigerator section of the grocery store). I had a soup recipe, which I'll share, that only used half of the package, so tonight I served the other half with an organic marinara sauce. I used my microplane to grate some asiago cheese over top- just a bit, since the tortellini is filled with cheese. Note: I have tried tortellini and ravioli that is dried, and there is truly NO comparison to the fresh stuff.


For those of you who have never used a microplane (originally a wood working tool), here are some things you can do with one (and once you have it, you will never want to live without again):

• Zest citrus fruits for recipes
• Grate cheeses (finely)
• Grate fresh ginger for your Asian cooking
• Grate nutmeg
• Dusting and grating fresh chocolate onto desserts

Now as I mentioned, I made a soup with the other half of the tortellini, and it made enough for about 7 servings, 6 of which I put in my deep freezer for lunches and/or a don't-know-what-to-make-for-dinner night. More on freezing in a later post. As for the below recipe, change it to suit you and your family! This is fast, healthy, and easy to make.

Turkey Tortellini Soup

10 oz fresh cheese tortellini
2 boxes organic chicken broth, preferably low sodium
2 cups chopped or pulled turkey breast (did you freeze some when you cooked your last turkey?)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cups triple washed organic fresh spinach
2 tsp ground tarragon
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Parmesan or Asiago cheese

In a soup pot, boil the chicken broth. Once boiling, add the tortellini and turn the temp down to medium high. Boil for about 6 minutes. Add the turkey, bell pepper, tarragon and fresh cracked pepper, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add the spinach. Stir and soup is ready to serve when spinach wilts. Grate or cut small curls of the cheese and serve on top of the soup.

Enjoy your meal!