A Soup That Packs Heat

3 sneaky ingredients make this soup a lift-your-spirits rock star.

Confession. I’m a bit of a soup snob. It’s simple really. Homemade soup is comforting not only when you eat it but it nurtures you during the chopping, sautéing and cooking process as well. A can of soup doesn’t even come close — and let’s not talk about the wickedly high salt content it has. So this soup I will convince you to make? Once you discover the 3 ingredients that make such a huge difference — you’ll have them in your house too.

When the snow is falling, or I’m listening to NPR on a Sunday morning— I automatically drag out my beat-up old soup pot I bought in a garage sale 20 years ago, my French cleaver, and butter and onions too (because that’s where all good soup stock starts). And then I head to the pantry and freezer and find the 3 handy ingredients that make this soup such a rock star.

My Three Sneaky Soup Ingredients?

My local Italian market has about 50 million kinds of pasta but one of my favorites is small, dried tortellini. They are probably in your local grocery store too. My dried tortellini favorites are cheese and mushroom. You don’t have to freeze the packages or store them in the fridge and it keeps for at least a year in your pantry. (As if it would ever make it that long in my house.)

I also always have a few cans of fire-roasted salsa hidden away on a shelf. Sure it is excellent with tacos or nachos but this salsa takes soup to a new level of zing. Not too hot to blow your head off but certainly, it will warm you up!

And last but not least, meet the savior of many dishes — frozen spinach balls. It usually says spinach nuggets on the front of the bag. You don’t want to buy the packages that are a solid square block of frozen spinach — as it will be too much for this soup.

The spinach balls are nothing fancy to look at but they are delicious and add lovely flavor, color and nutrients to your soup.

OK — let’s get started! I want you to be a homemade soup snob too.

Spicy Tortellini and Spinach Soup

8–10 servings

1/2 package of dried cheese tortellini (250 grams). (If you can’t find dried tortellini, you can certainly use frozen but make sure they are small. And they won’t need to cook as long.)

1 medium sized can of fire-roasted salsa (or another salsa of your choice)

4–5 balls of frozen spinach

1 liter chicken broth (or equivalent made from stock cubes)

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 medium onion — diced

2 tablespoons butter

*Optional. A few tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan for serving.

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add 2 tablespoons of butter and melt on medium heat.
2. Add diced onion and sauté until translucent but not brown. About 8–10 minutes.
3. Pour in chicken broth and add fire-roasted salsa and canned tomatoes.
4. Add 1/2 package of tortellini. (Don’t use an entire package as then you‘d just have pasta with sauce.)
5. Add 4–5 spinach balls.
6. Simmer (never boil) for 30 minutes on medium heat until the tortellini are puffed up and soft. Taste one to make sure they are fully cooked.
7. *Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan.

P.S. This soup is perfect for lunch the next couple of days as well.

Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News In New York!