This tortellini soup is the perfect dish to transition us from the winter cold into the gently warmer spring. Both the deeply flavorful broth and the cheesy tortellini are cozy enough for winter, but light enough for the brighter months ahead—and the addition of early spring vegetables like peas, pea leaves, and asparagus give it a vibrant green color to match the sprouting leaves outside. A squeeze of lemon juice, a little dollop of pesto, and some extra shaved Parmesan bring each bowl to life.
A Simple Springtime Soup, Inspired by Italy
When I think of tortellini soup, my mind immediately goes to tortellini en brodo, an Italian dish hailing from the Emilia-Romogna region. It’s traditionally served on Christmas, and the process of making it takes at least a few days: a dark, rich stock is made by boiling capon (a male chicken), the meat is ground with Parmesan and mortadella or prosciutto to create the filling, and then this mixture is stuffed into small tortellini.While I'll always prefer to make this dish from scratch, sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day (or enough days in the week!) to make that a reality. So when I’m craving tortellini but don’t want to make them by hand, or need the comfort of soup without spending the day simmering stock, I turn to this recipe. While there’s nothing like homemade, this gets us pretty close.
