ONE OF MY favorite soups is Chinese Wonton. So this recipe appealed to me when I read it. I tried it with a few additions and subtractions.

“Italian T ortellinSoup”

The broth is flavored with pancetta which is Italian rolled bacon. It is salt cured, not smoke cured
Pancetta can be found in our
local store, but it is thin sliced,
which seemed to work well. It
can be bought in a hunk (to
dice) in Hannaford’s.
The original and revised
recipes follow.
Tortellini in Brodo
(NY Times cooking section)
2 1/2 cups small cheese
tortellini
1/4 pound pancetta, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken
broth
1 5 or 6 ounce bag fresh
spinach
Prepare tortellini according to
package directions
Meanwhile, in a large
saucepan, sauté pancetta. Discard
all but 1 tablespoon fat.
Add garlic and sauté for 1-2
minutes. Add spinach and stir
until wilted. Add broth and heat
to a simmer. Add cooked
tortellini.
Note that the tortellini is not
cooked in the broth. This keeps
the soup relatively clear and
without the starch from the pasta.
The pasta could be cooked
till almost tender, then rinsed so
that it stops the cooking.
I felt a cold coming on so I
decided to make this for lunch
and substitute what I had. You
will see (below) that I added a
half chopped onion with the garlic
clove to just 4 cups of chicken
broth. I used the concentrated
chicken base “Better than
Buillon” rather than my own
stock. A dash of Balsamic Vinegar
always enhances the flavor.
Italian Tortellini Soup
(greenway revised)
1 cup small tortellini, cheese

and spinach mixture
5-6 thin slices pancetta, cut in
small pieces: about 1 1/2
ounces
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1/2-3/4 cup frozen leaf
spinach
Dash of Balsamic vinegar
Day old slices French bread,
cubed
In a large pot, gently sauté the
pancetta till it begins to curl.
Add the onion and butter, sauté
until the onion is translucent
then add the garlic. Sauté till
the garlic is translucent, but not
brown. Add the chicken stock or
bullion, and the Balsamic vinegar
and simmer to blend the flavors.

In a separate pot, prepare
tortellini according to package
directions. Add to broth. Add
frozen spinach without defrosting,
heat to a simmer.
Cut day old French bread into
cubes and put in bottom of
warmed soup bowls. Ladle
soup on top and sprinkle with
freshly grated parmesan and a
dribble of garlic olive oil.
Pistachio Brittle
(with ice cream)
Martha Stewart
Prep time 5 minutes: total 30
min
Vegetable oil cooking spray for
baking sheet
1/2 cup shelled raw unsalted
pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Mango or vanilla ice cream
Coat a 13x17 inch rimmed
baking sheet with cooking
spray. Sift pistachios using a
fine sieve to remove dust and
fine pieces. Heat sugar and
water in a heavy saucepan over
medium-high heat, stirring
occasionally with a wooden
spoon and washing sides of pan
often with a wet pastry brush to
prevent crystals from forming,
until dark golden, about 9 minutes.

Stir in pistachios, and immediately
pour mixture onto baking
sheet. Distribute pistachios
evenly using a rubber spatula.
Let stand until hardened, about
15 minutes.
Lightly bang baking sheet on a
counter to break brittle into
pieces. Serve with ice cream.