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JuliKellner
Juli Kellner
30 Minutes to a Hot, Healthy Meal
Fast soup – it doesn’t seem right that there is such a thing. Soups should be slowly simmered in a bubbling kettle, blending flavors and creating an intense aromatic broth.
But it is possible to create soul-satisfying and taste-bud-pleasing handcrafted soup in 30 minutes or less … if part of the work is done in advance by someone else like, say, Swanson or Campbell.
But how do you turn a can of soup or packaged broth into your own creation? We have a few great recipes to get the fun started.
Beginning with packaged soup or broth reduces both preparation and cooking time, but it’s what you add that really makes the finished dish something you’ll be proud to serve for dinner tonight.
There’s no doubt that we like our soup. Campbell’s estimates that 10 billion bowls of soup are consumed across the United States every year. Yellow pea soup, a cultural dish of Quebec, goes back to the days of the Voyageurs and the fur trade.
The first task for being soup-er ready is to develop a good pantry of basics. You don’t need to take up a lot of shelf space, just keep a few things on hand and replace them as you use them. Start with a good stock – chicken, beef or vegetable – in a can, a box or dried. Canned diced tomatoes, canned beans of your favorite variety, and rice should be ready on the shelf. Dried herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage will get you a good base. Keep small shapes of pasta or stuffed tortellini on the shelf.
Stock up on onions, garlic, carrots, celery and potatoes, too. From there, you can add what you like or whatever else might be on hand. With these basics in the pantry, though, you’ll even be set for soup should you find yourself snowed in for a day.
Yes, soup seems particularly appealing when it turns cold outside … and if you have the right stuff on hand, it can be your winter blizzard can’t-get-out-of-the-house-and-don’t-want-to meal. And you don’t need to tell anyone that it only took you a few minutes to prepare a hearty and delicious pot of soup. We’ll never spill the beans!
Juli Kellner, director of Programming and Production at WDSE • WRPT, also hosts that station’s “WDSE Cooks” series.
Tortellini & Spinach in Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic (to taste), thinly sliced. OK to substitute jarred minced garlic.
1/2 red onion, diced or 5 scallions including green, or 1 shallot (optional)
1/2 c. dry white wine
48 oz. chicken broth (canned or boxed Swanson’s low sodium)
Pkg. (20 oz.) fresh cheese tortellini. I use refrigerated, mixed-cheese tortellini with the green and white pasta.
1-2 c. chopped fresh tomatoes
1 bag (9 oz.) fresh spinach
1 Tbsp. butter (optional)
fresh cracked pepper to taste
grated Parmesan or Romano for topping
Heat oil in Dutch oven/soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 1 minute. Add garlic and cook for 30-seconds stirring constantly. Stir in wine – stir for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil and cook 2 minutes. Add tortellini – cook for 6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook for 4 minutes until spinach is wilted. Add butter and stir.
Serve immediately in flat soup bowls sprinkled with Parmesan and serve with crusty bread for dipping.
“In Italy, it’s called tortellini en brodo,” explains Lake Superior Magazine Publisher Cindy Hayden, who shared this recipe. “There are a million variations. It’s one of my favorite fast suppers.”
Cindy advises to cut this recipe in half to avoid leftovers, but it freezes well. Tortellini continues to expand and soak up all broth if refrigerated. You’ll need to add more broth when you reheat it. “But we love it reheated, too,” she adds.
Tomato Soup
4 cans (15 oz. each) diced tomatoes
1-1/2 tsp. dried or fresh chopped sweet basil
1-1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes or fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. chicken base (dried)
1/2 c. butter
12 oz. half & half or cream
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Dash of sugar
Milk
In a blender, puree the tomatoes. Pour into a large saucepan. Add basil, parsley & garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Add baking soda (the soup will foam). Reduce heat to medium low and add the chicken base, butter, sugar, half & half or cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Add milk to achieve desired thickness. Serve with crusty French bread.
You’ll definitely taste the difference of “fresh” versus canned with this old-fashioned favorite by Jeanne Behling, featured on WDSE Cooks “T is for Tomato.”
Wild Rice Soup
1 lb. bacon
2 c. cooked wild rice (or 1 can prepared wild rice, drained)
2 cans (10 oz. each) cream of potato soup
1 can (10 oz.) cream of celery soup
3 soup cans milk (your choice, whole or low fat)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. dried onions
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Fry bacon; drain and crumble. Add remaining ingredients except for the cheese. Heat thoroughly and then add the cheese. Stir until cheese melts; serve.
This recipe comes from Sue Stahl of Duluth and was featured on WDSE Cooks’s “W is for Wild” segment.