It's Soup time of year. The nights are drawing in and it's definitely getting colder. I've been fighting the temptation to put the heating on when it's only September, but I've had to give in a couple of times and put it on for a wee while, just to take the edge of the chill. So here we have a big pot of Tortellini Minestrone Soup to combat the cold nights and for a spot of comfort.
This is very similar to a simple minestrone I make, but this time I added tortellini for a more substantial meal rather than usual baby Pasta or broken spaghetti strands I often add.
Which pasta do you use in minestrone soup?
There are various pasta shapes that can be used in soup. You can use full sized pasta in any shape, but there are small pasta shapes made especially for soup.
- Stelline - these are little stars and some brands just call them little star pasta. These are also the perfect pasta for weaning babies.
- Acini di pepe - these are teeny little cubes. The name is Italian for grains of pepper.
- Orzo - you may be more familiar with this pasta. It looks like a grain of rice and is often used in pasta salad.
- Tubettini - are little pasta tubes, a little like macaroni.
- Fideo Cut Spaghetti - are short pieces of spaghetti, but you can just break regular spaghetti into smaller pieces for soup.
- Tortellini - are little filled pasta parcels that turn soup into a substantial meal.
The tortellini I added to the soup is a spinach and ricotta tortellini from the essential Waitrose range. I haven't yet stumbled across a vegan tortellini, so if you are vegan then you will have to either make your own or choose another pasta shape to add.
essential Waitrose
To save money on my shop, I bought my ingredients for my soup from the essential Waitrose range. Waitrose are currently cutting the price on hundreds of items in their essential Waitrose range, so it is well worth a look and they are all good quality basics you probably use all the time.
Tortellini Minestrone Soup
A big pot of minestrone soup made with courgette (zucchini), carrot, spinach and cannellini beans. The special finishing touch which makes this soup a filling meal is parcels of spinach and ricotta tortellini. Change the tortellini for any other unfilled pasta shape to make this recipe vegan.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots, finely sliced
- 1 courgette (zucchini), finely sliced
- 50g spinach
- 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 litre/4 cups vegetable stock (3 stock cubes)
- a handful of fresh basil, torn
- a good grinding of salt and pepper
Instructions
1. In a large pot saute the onion and garlic until soft, then add the celery and cook gently for another few minutes.2. Add the carrots and courgette (zucchini) and cook for another few minutes.3. Add the stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, spinach and beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are firm but not crunchy.4. Season the soup with salt and pepper then add the basil and the tortellini. Cook for a few more minutes until the tortellini are cooked.4. Serve immediately.5. Enjoy!
Details
Total time:
Yield: Serves 6-8
Follow the conversation and find more recipe inspiration on the Waitrose website or on Twitter and Instagram with @waitrose and the hashtag #essentialWaitrose
Disclosure: I created this recipe to help promote the essential Waitrose range. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.
