Mushroom Tortellini Soup

The leftover ham this year is mine alone. No Earl to complain about ham sandwiches for a week. No Earl to eat the ham fried rice with exaggerated enthusiasm. Just me, in the kitchen, transforming leftovers into meals for one, which is the saddest and most practical thing I do.

I made ham and bean soup. Put the bone in the pot with white beans and onion and celery and let it simmer all day. The house smelled like Sunday even though it was Tuesday. Earl would have eaten three bowls. I ate one. I froze the rest in quart containers and labeled them: "Ham Bean Soup — April 2019." My freezer is becoming an autobiography in Tupperware.

Something good happened at school this week. A teacher named Mrs. Williams — young, new, teaches second grade — she came to the kitchen after lunch and asked if I would be willing to do a cooking demonstration for her class. "The kids are studying nutrition," she said, "and they love you, Miss Dot." I said I would think about it, which means yes, because I always say I'll think about it when I mean yes. It gives me time to prepare.

Kayla's been working doubles at Memorial. The cardiac unit is short-staffed and she's picking up shifts, which means she's exhausted and I don't see her as much. When she does come by, she falls asleep on my couch — Michael's old spot, the left cushion, the one with the indent from all the times he sat there as a teenager — and I cover her with the afghan and I let her sleep because rest is the most important thing a nurse can get and a grandmother can give.

The garden is producing already. Denise's tomatoes — I still call them Earl's garden, but these are Denise's tomatoes — they're flowering. The herbs are in. The peppers are coming. I went out Saturday morning with my coffee and I stood in the garden and I said, out loud, "Earl, the tomatoes look good." And I swear the wind shifted. I swear I felt something. Maybe I'm a foolish old woman talking to the air. Maybe the air was answering. I'll take either one.

Now go on and feed somebody.

That ham and bean soup got me thinking about the rhythm of a big pot — how there’s a kind of peace in something that just simmers, that doesn’t ask anything of you while it works. When the ham bone was finally spent and the quart containers were all lined up in the freezer, I found myself wanting to do it again with something different, something I could share with Kayla when she finally dragged herself off that couch. This mushroom tortellini soup became my next project — rich enough to feel like a real meal, gentle enough to eat at any hour, and it freezes beautifully if you hold the tortellini out until you’re ready to serve.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
16 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
9 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Instructions

Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the base. Add the carrots and mushrooms to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and begun to brown, about 8 minutes. Season with thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Add the broth and tomatoes. Pour in the broth and the diced tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to let the flavors come together.
Cook the tortellini. Add the tortellini to the simmering soup and cook according to package directions, usually 5 to 7 minutes, until tender.
Finish with spinach. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan. For freezing, cool completely and portion into quart containers — freeze before adding tortellini and spinach, then add fresh when reheating.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mushroom Tortellini Soup — When the Pot Simmers All Day and the House Remembers