Kale, Kielbasa & Tortellini Soup

by Sarah

soup pot

Yowza, did we get some snow on Saturday night and Sunday! I love me a good weekend snowstorm, though – nowhere to go first thing in the morning . . . we just hang out inside and watch it fall. And then later, I hang out inside and watch my intrepid husband wrangle our giant snow-blower around for a while. L. played in the snow a bit, but we also took the opportunity to whip up a batch of her favorite Christmas cookies, along with a big pot of this soup.

Kale, Kielbasa & Tortellini Soup

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

12 oz. fully-cooked turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 T. chopped fresh thyme

1/2 t. dried crushed red pepper

10 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch of kale

1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 9-oz. package cheese tortellini

2 T. low-sodium soy sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 c. grated Romano cheese

Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the kielbasa, onion, garlic, thyme and red pepper and sauté until the onion is translucent and the kielbasa is brown, about 12 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in kale and cannellini. Reduce heat to low and simmer until kale is wilted, about 4 minutes. Add the tortellini to soup*. Simmer until pasta is just tender but still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls. Serve, passing cheese separately. Serves 6.

*A note: If you think you’re going to eat all the soup at once, prep it this way. But if you think that you’re going to want to have soup as leftovers, I’d cook the tortellini according to the package directions and then add it to individual serving bowls. Otherwise, next day you’re going to have lifeless, bloated tortellini floating in your soup, and that’s just gross.