Tortellini in Turkey Brodo

The first snow of the year has fallen here in Toronto. 

Of course, here along the shores of Humber Bay in the west of Toronto, we get way less snow that the rest of the city north of us, so I don’t even count it as a decent snow fall.  I want a real dumping!

And with these snowy and colder days, can the true comfort foods be far behind? Yes, it’s time for all the carbs!  Of course there are ways to enjoy those carbs, in a slightly less guilty setting.  Step in Tortellini in Brodo.  A classic Italian comfort food meal.  They came up with such an easy and obvious way to enjoy those lovely filled pasta dumplings.  In a simple broth, with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  What more do you need?  Wrap your hands around a bowl or mug of this soothing soup, and it’s like being wrapped up in a wool blanket, fuzzy socks and all.

While I am not going to ask you to make tortellini from scratch, I am going to show you how to make the most delicious, comforting and healthy broth, out of my favourite meat covered bones: turkey!  Sure, you could wait for the day after a full out turkey dinner to use the carcass to make this broth.  But I give you a better way.  Go to your butcher or meat aisle, pick up some big legs and wings, and use these for the base of your broth. Here’s my reasoning: Using fresh cuts of meat on bones means that as you cook this luscious broth, you will also reap the benefits of the tender fall of the bone meat that can be added to soups, enchiladas, tetrazzini etc.  Or even turkey noodle soup!

Disclaimer: This meal is so so so easy to whip up, that when I’m brain-dead, or just don’t have it in me to start a meal from scratch, I just pull out some stock from the freezer, defrost and warm it up, and add the frozen tortellini at the end.  Dinner is done!

My New You Bone Broth calls for cooking down the broth till every last drop of collagen can be extracted from the bones.  This often means that I will leave the stock pot simmering away gently for a good 18-24 hours.  Doing this means that any meat will be beyond salvaging.  There will be no flavour left to that meat.  But the reason for the New You Bone Broth is not for the meat, it’s to make the Super Broth, for the nutrient dense results, perfect for our health. This is what I usually heat up to drink at lunch time.  Sure you could add some mushrooms, onions etc, but I’m fine drinking it as is, like a tea.

But the broth for this recipe is a lot less intensive, a lot less time consuming.  Without losing any of the flavour of course.  Just the best turkey cuts, fresh bright veggies, a bounteous bouquet garni, and all sorts of aromatics and seasonings.  Let it all simmer for 2 1/2 hours and then go in and fish out the wings and leg.  Let them cool ever so slightly so that you can handle them, and remove the meat.  Put all the bones and skin back into the pot, and let it simmer for another hour.  That’s it.  At this point you’ll take the pot, strain out all the solids and move the remaining liquid to a container(s) to cool overnight.  The next day you’ll be able to skim off the fat and store as desired.  I usually get 4-5 litres or quarts from a large stock pot full.  Most will get put into 1 litre containers to be put into the freezer.  I’ll keep some in the fridge for soup or drinking as tea.

Broth tips: If you have a pasta pot (a stock pot with a colander type insert for draining the pasta) this is the time to use it.  It works fantastically as the best way to drain out all the solids at the end of making your broth.  Always add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar if you are cooking this down for the collagen.  The apple cider vinegar aids in extracting all the collagen from the bones.  But don’t add it to this broth if you are only cooking it for 3 or so hours.  The vinegar flavour will still be apparent.  If you live somewhere where it is regularly below freezing all winter, you may consider making this and then placing the strained broth into a large pot with a lid and then placing it out on the balcony or deck or garage to let settle overnight.  I place my pot into a large outdoor bin with a lid, and place it on my balcony to sit out in the cold overnight.  The next day it is so easy to skim off the solidified fats which have risen to the top.  This is also why I always defrost my cube freezer in the winter- I can store everything outside while the freezer is getting cleaned out, without fear that the contents will warm up!  There are more tips in my New You Bone Broth.

So we now have some delightful broth ready to be filled with goodies.  Naturally you can made turkey noodle soup.  But once you’ve had tortellini in brodo, you will regularly want to make room for this option, I promise!! And I leave it to you to pick your favourite tortellini filling to use.  Four cheese maybe?  Chicken and Spinach, Italian sausage or prosciutto?  Whichever one your family likes will work in this soup.  All that is left is that grating of fresh parmesan.  Add a copious amount of fluffy Parmigiano-Reggiano and watch it melt around the pasta.  The final flavour to the broth.  You will be scraping the bottom of the bowl where any cheeses have melted and settled.

There is something so sublime about this simple dish. Fluffy tender pasta bundles floating in flavourful broth, with all the cheese melting around them.  With each spoonful it gets more and more tasty.  Dim the lights, put on the jazz, and savour this simple but satisfying soup.  Stay healthy and stay warm!

Love Jen

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Tortellini in Turkey Brodo

The most simple soup starts with a superior broth. This rich turkey broth fits the bill. Just add fresh or frozen tortellini and plenty of grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano to create the most soothing soup out there!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword brodo, tortellini, turkey

Prep Time 10 hours 15 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Cooling time 12 hours

Servings 4

Ingredients

Brodo

• 3 lbs of turkey meat on bones, like bone in thighs, legs, wings, or a combo of all
• 2 large yellow onions, quartered, keep the skins on, unless covered with dirt
• 3 carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
• 5 celery ribs, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
• 1 leek, dark green and root removed, cleaned and halved, coarsely chopped into half moons
• 3 rosemary sprigs
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 3 sage sprigs
• small bunch of parsley
• 12 peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Tortellini in Brodo

• salt and pepper
• 10 oz (300 grams) or so Tortellini for four, can be from frozen, whatever flavour you want!
• fresh wedge of parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot (ideally a pasta pot with the fitted colander liner inserted) layer in the turkey meat, onions, carrots, celery, and leeks.

2. Tie the rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley tightly with butchers twine to create a bouquet garni. Add this to the pot.
3. Add in the peppercorns and bay leaves.
4. Cover everything to the top with 5 litres or quarts of water, or as much as your pot will allow.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover.
6. After 2 1/2 hours, use tongs to fish out and remove the turkey meat. If it falls off the bones, great. If not, let it cool slightly so that you can use a fork to remove the meat. Place any bones and skin back into the pot.
7. Continue simmering for another hour.
8. If you have used a pasta colander liner, you can lift this up and allow the liquids to drain back into the pot.
9. If not, then you will need to pass the entire contents of the pot through a colander.
10. Remove the solids and move the strained liquids into a pot to cool overnight. Do this either in the fridge, or out in the garage if it is cold out! Below freezing! Make sure the pot is covered tightly and protected.
11. The next morning you can skim off any fat, and store the remaining stock in containers to be put in the freezer, or for this soup. You will need about 1 1/2 cups per person.

Tortellini in Brodo

1. Bring at least 6 cups of the broth to a boil. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to start. Taste to see if you want more. Reduce the heat to medium high to maintain a rolling but not crazy boil. Add the pasta and allow to cook until they are cooked through and rise to the top.
2. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano