Chicken Tortellini Soup

Everybody in my universe tells me they love chicken noodle soup. I totally get it, and I like to think of it this way: rich, flavorful stock, tender carrots and celery, lemon zest and juice, dill and parsley, and plenty of tender white meat chicken. Plus pillowy cheese tortellini in nearly every spoonful.

Except everybody else means the kind in a red and white can.

Whatever.

Mine is better. WAY better.

Chicken Tortellini Soup has hands down been my favorite soup this past year. I’ve made it twice in the last three weeks alone. It’s delicious. It’s also quick, easy, and inexpensive. I often make it Sunday morning while I read the paper and drink coffee, and then I can have it for lunch all week. And health benefits abound! I use homemade vegetable stock which is highly nutritious and free, but the store-bought kind would have to include some pretty good stuff from the looks of the ingredient list. The other things that go into Chicken Tortellini Soup–carrots, celery, green herbs, lemon, etc.–are super good for you, too. And as an added bonus, a single freakishly large chicken breast will yield plenty of chicken for a whole pot of soup. Otherwise 2 regular breasts or a small rotisserie chicken will be fine.

Further, this is absolutely a year-round soup. So many soups are heavy enough that I only want them in the fall and winter. Not Chicken Tortellini Soup. Light and brothy–but hearty enough to let you know you’ve eaten–it’s just the thing now that we’ve hit that point where the A/C is on one day, and the heater is running the next.

Yay! Chicken noodle soup at its tasty, slurpy, best!


Chicken Tortellini Soup

2 T. olive oil
2 scallions, sliced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 quart vegetable stock
1 quart water
4 t. chicken base or 4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 ½ t. dried dill
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 T. dried parsley flakes
Zest and juice of one lemon (NO SEEDS!)
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped
8 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm the oil in a soup pot and sauté the scallions, carrots and celery over medium heat for 10 or 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the vegetable stock, water, bouillon, dill, parsley, and lemon zest and juice. Bring to a simmer, turn the het to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chicken and allow to heat through. Add the tortellini and simmer for another 3 or 4 minutes, or just until the tortellini is tender. Stir in the cream if using. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.