Tortellini thrown into a soup is one of the best things ever, but it’s nothing new. In fact, a traditional dish from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy is Tortellini in Brodo and when I visited Bologna I ate it so many times. Even in the heat of summer, the simplicity of a hot broth with little parcels of filled pasta floating around is too good to resist. This soup is loosely based on that idea and something I threw together because of what I had on hand, only to find that it was too good not to repeat. It’s now a favourite of mine.
I’ve chosen Lincolshire sausages here because of their herby, sage flavours, but you can absolutely use any sausage meat you like and I wouldn’t blame you for experimenting with a few different versions. Chicken or turkey sausages could also work here really nicely. If sausages aren’t something you’re too keen on, you could just use some ground meat whether it be beef, pork, chicken or turkey, but I would suggest seasoning it a bit more and maybe adding some herbs for flavour. The beauty of using the meat out of sausages is that the flavour is already packed in there and they have some fat content there as well which makes everything taste better, but you could absolutely just use some mince instead. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, diced small
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 400g Lincolshire sausages (or 6 sausages), skins removed and meat crumbled
- Zest & juice of 1 large lemon (or two small ones)
- 2 litres chicken stock
- 300g cheese tortellini
- 100ml double cream
- Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Method
- In a large soup pot that has a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the chopped shallot, celery, carrot and chilli. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened and then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
- Add the crumbled sausage meat and cook, stirring until browned all over. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the lemon juice and deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape any flavourful bits up from the pan and then pour in the chicken stock. Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, pop on the lid and simmer for about 20 minutes. Bring to a boil again and cook the tortellini right in the soup according to packet instructions, but just a little under the time specified. For example, the tortellini I use says to cook for 3 minutes, so I cook it for 2 before moving on to the next step because it will continue to cook as the recipe carries on.
- Reduce the heat back to medium or medium-high and stir in the double cream. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for a minute or two to allow it to heat through before serving.
- When you’re ready to serve, the soup will be piping hot. Ladle it into bowls and sprinkle with some fresh thyme leaves and grated Parmesan cheese.
Click here for more Soups & Stews recipes!
