Garlicky Tortellini Soup, in Celebration of National Soup Month

There are few things more soothing than soup.

When your tummy is sick, or your nose is stuffy it's time for soup.

If your teeth hurt, you can still eat soup.

And when your heart is broken, soup might be just the thing to help it mend.

Of course you could argue that ice cream could do all the same things.

But this January and this is Maine and we prefer soup at this moment.

In fact, January is National Soup Month. So before the month is out, let's make some soup!

You could try my favorite lentil soup. For something more exotic, make the Coconut Curry Chicken Soup. And I promise a bowl of this creamy chicken soup will be good for whatever ails you.

Our soup special today is Tortellini. The amount of garlic will kill off any lurking cold germs and the spinach will give you the strength of Popeye. You can use any kind of tortellini you like, or even some mini-ravioli. Fresh or dried, meat or cheese filled. I do find that dried holds up better in the broth than fresh.

This soup is fast,  wicked easy and you might even already have all the ingredients at home. Which is a very nice thing if you live in one of the areas of the country in the deep freeze and you have no desire to leave your cozy home. 

Garlicky Tortellini Soup with Spinach

from Fine Cooking

2 Tbsps. unsalted butter

6-8 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups lower sodium chicken broth (or homemade if you have it)

6 oz. fresh, dried or frozen tortellini

14 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their liquid

10 oz. bag of baby spinach

8-10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant,  about

2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, (about 5 minutes for frozen or dried, less for fresh). Add the tomatoes with their liquid and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until tortellini is tender.

Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until just wilted, 1-2 minutes. Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

Serve sprinkled generously with grated cheese.

Have ice cream for dessert.

On a sweeter note...World Nutella Day is coming soon! I'm taking suggestions. What kind of Nutella recipe would you like to see on Mignardise ? 

Book Club Soup

Here is a short post about two of my favorite things - soup and books.
This month our book group read Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi .The book, a fictionalized history, tells the story of a seven year old African girl. She arrived in Boston in 1761, where she was sold as a slave to the Wheatley family, and renamed Phillis. Her intelligence is nurtured, she is taught to read and write, and she becomes a well-known poet. Books of her poems were published in England, but in colonial Boston, her writing's authenticity is questioned. How could a young black slave compose such moving and thoughtful works? Phillis is forced to defend her work to the governor and others, which she does successfully. It's a really good read, and different than our typical picks from popular literature. I'd recommend it to anyone, and it might be especially appealing to middle-schoolers.

The book was a great excuse for a night out with a terrific group of women. When we get together, the host cooks dinner. There's no pressure to produce an extravagant meal - whatever the host is comfortable doing is fine. We've even had members host in a restaurant if they didn't feel like cooking. Last night was cold and windy. Laura, our lovely host, provided the perfect meal for a chilly October night. Spiced and roasted pumpkin seeds to have with wine, a big Greek salad and this delicious soup. The recipe was originally from Gourmet magazine, but many tweaks have made it Laura's own.

Red Lentil Soup

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin (or more of you really like cumin)

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 cups red lentils, picked over and rinsed

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
(to make this a vegetarian dish, use vegetable broth instead)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup frozen peas

2 Tbsps. fresh lemon juice

Cook onion in oil with 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium-sized heavy sauce pan, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, bay leaf and thyme, and cook stirring, one more minute. Add lentils, broth, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper. Simmer, partially covered, until lentils are very soft and falling apart, about 35-45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Puree 3 cups of the soup in blender or food processor (be careful when blending hot liquids!), then return to pan. Stir in parsley, peas and lemon juice. Serve when peas are heated through.

I can't wait to make this at my house. When I do, I think I'll try adding a little curry powder and maybe some chopped carrots, cooked along with the onion. Thanks Laura - it's a keeper!

I'm off to the Grand Tasting at Harvest on the Harbor tonight. I hope to take lots of pictures to show you. Check back over the weekend.