Tortellini in broth, a delicious and nutritious first course to be served very hot. When we think of tortellini in broth, the first thing that comes to mind is Christmas dinner, although it is a dish consumed throughout the winter. When I have guests for dinner, with a good dish of tortellini with meat broth, I never go wrong. However, there’s something I need to tell you that might make purists cringe: I never make tortellini at home, I just don’t feel like it. For me, it’s too lengthy a task that requires a lot of patience, something I’ve lost quite some time ago. I usually buy tortellini from an excellent fresh pasta shop, and sometimes I get them at the supermarket, choosing a good product. What I don’t give up on is a good homemade meat broth and the result is always very satisfying.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Slow Cooking, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for Tortellini in Broth
- 14 oz tortellini (fresh)
- to taste salt
- 2.2 lbs beef (for stew)
- 1 lb chicken
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 leek
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 1 bunch parsley
- to taste whole peppercorns
- 4 liters water
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- Sieve
- Cheesecloth
Preparation Tortellini in Broth
Peel the onion. Clean the leek using only the white part; rinse under running water.
Wash the celery and carrots and cut them into pieces. (I had very fresh carrots and preferred not to scrape them).
Remove the skin from the chicken and place it in a large pot (I chose a fairly fatty cut of beef, so I preferred to remove the chicken skin, but you can leave it on if you like).
Add the beef, the vegetables you prepared (onion, leek, and celery), the parsley, bay leaves, and some peppercorns. Pour in the water, cover, and bring to a boil. (I don’t add salt, I prefer to do so when using the broth).
Leave a vent in the lid and occasionally skim the broth, removing impurities that form on the surface using a skimmer. This will be necessary for the first 30-40 minutes of boiling; after that, it won’t be needed, and you can close the lid. Cook on low heat for at least 3 hours.
At the end of cooking, strain everything, collecting the broth, then filter it through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.
Put 1.2 liters of broth in a pot, salt it, and bring it to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook them (usually takes 2-3 minutes). Keep additional boiling broth in a saucepan to add at the end of cooking, if desired.
Serve the tortellini in broth very hot.
NOTES
If you want a leaner but also clearer and more transparent broth, prepare it the day before and refrigerate it. The next day, the fat will have solidified on the surface, and you can remove it completely or partially with a skimmer.
You can also prepare tortellini in broth with Beef Broth or with Chicken Broth or with Turkey Broth.
The leftover broth can be stored in the refrigerator, in a closed container, for 3 days.
You can also freeze it (only if you have used fresh and not previously frozen ingredients), for about 3 months. In this case, it’s advisable to divide it into portions.
