What's For Dinner: Tortellini Soup with Leafy Greens

This is officially my new favorite soup. It's good for lunch, it's good for dinner, it's good for when your husband calls at 5p to say that he's invited six people over for dinner at 6:30. In fact, this soup is so good I've made it three times in the past two weeks. Yeah, it's really that good. Even better? It takes less than 45 minutes to make (and that's providing a generous amount of time for chopping an onion and slicing some garlic; the cook time is only around 30 minutes).

The addition of crushed red pepper flakes definitely adds a bit of a kick to this soup; if you prefer your soup less spicy or are feeding little ones, I'd recommend lowering the amount you use. You can use your favorite tortellini in this soup; I prefer using cheese tortellini to keep this soup vegetarian, but any variety would do.

Tortellini Soup with Leafy Greens (printer-friendly version)
makes 4-6 servings

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
14.5-ounce can fire-roasted organic diced tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
10-ounce package cheese tortellini
2 cups fresh leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc.)
freshly ground black pepper
fine sea salt
freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, and dried basil. Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened and golden brown, 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and saute until softened, 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant, 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the diced tomatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Stir in the cheese tortellini and cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in the leafy greens and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until just wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan before serving.

(lightly adapted from this Shutterbean recipe)