Ham and Cheese Tortellini Soup
Ingredients
- 2-3 quarts ham broth (below), chicken broth, or a combination
- 2-3 cups coarsely chopped ham
- 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
- 3 cups chopped kale
- 1 pound fresh cheese tortellini
- parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
Combine broth, ham, and chickpeas in a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Add kale and tortellini and simmer until kale is wilted and tortellini is just cooked, about 6 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
If not serving immediately, cook tortellini in a separate pot. Quickly cool under cold water to stop cooking process. Toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking. When ready to serve, heat soup and add in tortellini to just heat through.
Ham Broth
- ham bone with a little meat on it
- you can also add: other ham scraps, vegetable scraps such as carrot pieces, onion pieces, celery pieces, peppercorns
Place ham bone (and other scraps if using) in a very large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to more than cover.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 3 hours. Add a little water once or twice an hour to maintain level.
Remove from heat and remove bones and any vegetables. Strain to remove any remaining pieces and discard. Taste the broth- if watery or not flavorful enough, return to a boil and allow some of the water to evaporate until a good flavor is achieved. If too strong, add a little water.
Cool broth to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for a few hours, until fat has solidified on top. Remove solidified fat before using.