5-Ingredient Tortellini Soup

Month two of the pandemic. The new rhythms are hardening into routine: takeout counter at 6 AM, pre-orders by phone and Instagram DM, deliveries by Luis in the van, daily conchas to Doña Esperanza at 6:30. The revenue has stabilized at sixty percent of pre-pandemic levels, which is enough — barely enough, the familiar barely, the Gutierrez family's native tongue. I am not taking a salary. Graciela, Maricela, and Leticia are still employed, still paid, still showing up. Yolanda comes twice a week for tamale orders that come in sporadically — people want comfort food in a pandemic, and tamales are comfort food's comfort food.

The house is full. Four children, remote learning, one internet connection, four devices, infinite noise. Isabella studies in her room with the door closed, because AP Chemistry via Zoom requires silence and concentration and the whiteboard and the color-coded flashcards and the absolute refusal to let a pandemic lower her standards. Sofia studies at the bakery — she set up a laptop on the counter and does her schoolwork between orders, which means she is simultaneously attending tenth-grade English and selling conchas, and the multitasking is so Sofia that it feels like satire. Diego does his Zoom classes from the living room, where his camera is positioned to show only his face and not the elaborate drone-modification project happening on the coffee table behind him. Camila does her Zoom classes from the kitchen table, where she sings the alphabet song at volume during roll call and her teacher has learned to mute her during instructional time.

Luis Jr. is still deployed. The pandemic has not changed the deployment — soldiers don't get to come home because of a virus; soldiers get to come home when the deployment ends, which is June, which is two months, which is sixty-one days. I count. I always count. The counting continues through pandemic and quarantine and the strange new world where masks are required and hugs are forbidden and the only physical contact I have with people outside my family is the brushing of fingers when I hand a bag of conchas through the bakery door.

I made sopa de fideo again — the poverty soup, the pandemic soup, the soup that costs eighty cents and feeds the family and tastes like every hard time Rosa ever cooked through. The fideo noodles toast in the pan and the tomato broth simmers and the kitchen smells like survival, because survival has a smell, and the smell is toasted pasta and garlic and the particular warmth of a pot that is doing its job on a stove that is doing its job in a kitchen that is doing its job, and the job is: keep them fed, keep them fed, keep them fed.

The sopa de fideo is Rosa’s recipe — it belongs to her, to her kitchen, to the particular grammar of her survival — but when I wanted to write something down for other families living inside their own barely, I reached for this tortellini soup instead: five ingredients, one pot, twenty minutes, and that same quality the fideo has of asking almost nothing of you while giving almost everything back. You don’t need to be a baker or a cook or someone who isn’t exhausted. You just need a pot, a stove that is doing its job, and the willingness to feed them one more night.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
9 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Build the base. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute until fragrant — do not let it brown.
Add tomatoes and broth. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Cook the tortellini. Add the tortellini directly to the pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook according to package directions, typically 5 to 7 minutes, until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
Season and serve. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh basil or parsley if you have it. Serve with crusty bread if the day calls for it.

Nutrition (per serving)

5-Ingredient Tortellini Soup — The Soup That Keeps You Going