Serves a Crowd
Smoky Minestrone With Tortellini & Pesto
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239 Reviews
Dariusz
November 10, 2023
Fantastic dish, full of delicious flavours! Second-day leftovers are great, too, maybe even better. This recipe goes to my favourites.
Laura E.
January 10, 2023
This recipe has great depth of flavor. I completely omitted the pesto and topped it with shaved Asiago cheese for serving. I love potatoes so I added a bit extra, and decreased the leek by half because I thought it might be too onion-y for my family’s typical taste. Just delicious and I’m already looking forward to the leftovers today. My eight year old even ate a ton, mostly focused on the tortellini and broth :)
Smaug
January 2, 2023
Personally, I think I'd skip the smoke if I was going to call it minestrone as Italian cooking has generally sedulously avoided smoke flavor. However, vegetarians who want to try it could use a bit of liquid smoke- an unjustly maligned product. Good types, such as Wright's, are just smoke dissolved in water. There are some with weird ingredient lists that I avoid.
Randie R.
October 6, 2022
Excellent recipe. Not a kale fan so I used escarole. And if you’re using bacon, I don’t find a need to add EVOO. Everyone had seconds.
simski100
January 6, 2022
Perfect! Instead od chickpeas I added dried beans (presoaked) and one chicken breast🌟
Dipndee
September 21, 2021
I’ve been making this recipe for 11 years now and it’s never failed me. Every time I tweak it a bit, and every time it comes out delicious. My husband and two young kids love it, too.
KyleKerr
June 8, 2021
Fantastic recipe and I appreciated all the other tips and variations listed in these comments. Adding in the parm rind near the end definitely added some depth to the flavours and adding some paprika built onto the smoky flavours. I went with bacon and a bit of pancetta as I love both. Definitely great as a main feature or as part of a coursed dinner but this soup can be a star all on its own. Kyle Kerr
Peggy G.
April 15, 2020
As a yummy variation, add sautéed large nice quality shrimp at the end just before serving in each bowl.
Maserati
October 21, 2019
I've made this decadent soup for many winter nights, I always substitute kale (I'm allergic, for Swiss chard and I always add more bacon (of course I still drain the bacon fat) I use bow tie pasta instead of tortellini and I also add a Parmesan rind while its boiling. This is my version and it's a keeper!
Pamela_in_Tokyo
June 21, 2019
I made this exactly as printed in the recipe except I didn’t have any tortellini at all. So I didn’t use that. I didn’t mind it that it was so thick .... it’s more like a main dish soup. And the pesto and the balsamic vinegar are absolutely required condiments! They bring the soup alive. This is a real keeper and I really love it.
Linda
December 18, 2018
This is absolutely delicious. We recently changed our diet to plant based for health reasons so I'm exploring a new way of cooking without meat. I did not use bacon but spiced it up with smoky paprika and also threw in a parm rind. It was extremely thick, so I doubled the amount of stock and it was still a hearty and not thin consistency. Can't wait to have a bowl of "planned overs" tonight.
keithcancook
April 28, 2018
Fantastic!!,I needed to add extra stock and I used swiss chard instead of kale.I also put in a parma rind.
Erin A.
February 20, 2018
I made this last night and WOW! I did add a little extra stock because it was super thick. I had small shells on hand so I substituted them for the tortellini and my pine nuts were off so I had to use macadamia nuts in the pesto instead. It was incredibly flavorful and everyone enjoyed it very much. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Dee-lish!
ali
February 16, 2018
Made this last night. Just delicious! Made the following changes: Used 6 cups of stock and added more water as I went - probably to equal 8 cups liquid total. Used Pomi finely diced tomatoes (26.46oz pkg), added some chopped basil in with the soup and used store bought pesto at the end. Rave reviews at my house!
Linda C.
January 10, 2018
Looking forward to making this with smoked paprika, as mentioned previously, and a smoked garlic that I get at my growers' market
Jade B.
October 24, 2017
Finished the last of the leftovers of this recipe. Definitely a hit...will make again! Perhaps next time though add more broth because all the goodies in the soup soaked it right up, and I'd like it a bit less stew texture.
tastysweet
October 23, 2017
I just finished eating this. My husband loved it as did I. Followed it pretty much precisely, except I added fresh go round pepper. Needed a bit more salt. Added that in stages.
One question, The sauce was very thick and that was ok. But was wondering if that was because I used the San Marzano crushed tomatoes instead if whole.
I am freezing the left overs except for one container. Having it again for tomorrow's dinner. Yummmm.
One question, The sauce was very thick and that was ok. But was wondering if that was because I used the San Marzano crushed tomatoes instead if whole.
I am freezing the left overs except for one container. Having it again for tomorrow's dinner. Yummmm.
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