Cheese Tortellini in Walnut Pesto Broth

Confession time, y'all: Over the last year or so, I've let myself become lazy.

A month ago, there's no way I would have made dinner on a night like tonight. Upon leaving work, I had a few hours of work to do, plus a few loads of laundry--a month ago, there's no question that I would have picked up some take-out. It's incredibly tempting in this neighborhoor--Over-the-Rhine is home to most of the best restaurants in Cincinnati, no matter the price range.

Honestly, the ease of take-out (or go-out) is the main thing that motivated me to do this silly Soupruary thing again. I haven't eaten out (or ordered take-out) once this month, and I have to say it feels good. Feels good to walk that extra mile to the market after work, feels good to do extra dishes, feels good to know I'm creating something I don't get paid to create. I suppose this is a selfish experiment.

But, for me at least, it's also informative. This soup took 10 minutes to make, all in. It probably would have taken longer to get take-out. Plus, I always feel awkward listening to podcasts while waiting for food, but it's perfectly enjoyable in my kitchen. I'm not trying to get self-righteous about not eating out or something. For one thing, I'm super stoked to go get some sushi on Friday (possibly for lunch AND dinner). But this month has been a great brain-reprogrammer for me. Yeah, I should cook more; yeah, I can cook more; no, it doesn't have to be a big production.

This soup? I'm not even sure you can call it cooking. I didn't toil over freshly-made pasta dough, forming tortellini by hand. I didn't fill a big stock pot with vegetables and aromatics to make my own perfect broth. But on a night when time was at a premium, I was able to make dinner for tonight and lunch for tomorrow in ten minutes. TEN MINUTES. That's nothing. That's oops-I-got-distracted-by-a-cat-on-the-Internet. As much as I've been annoyed by Sandra Lee over the years, semi-homemade really is a fact of life sometimes. (I still don't see how it ever merited being a television show, but then, a whole lot of people watch Two and a Half Men too, and that probably does more harm.) 

This soup is not fancy and it's not difficult, but it sure does yield some tasty, cheesy returns. If you read the title of this post, you already know exactly what this tastes like. Next time you're pressed for time, why not give this baby a spin? You won't be sorry.

One more note--I used walnuts in the pesto rather than the traditional pine nuts, just because I like them better. This would work with any pesto though, really--including store-bought if that's your jam/bag/preference.

Cheese Tortellini in Walnut Pesto Broth

adapted from Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold

serves 2

GET THIS STUFF

1 c packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 c chopped raw walnuts
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 T olive oil
2 c vegetable broth (I used Rapunzel vegan bouillon)
a handful of grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c frozen peas
16 frozen or fresh cheese tortellinis

DO THIS WITH IT

Place basil, walnuts, Parmesan and garlic in food processor and whir it up a bit.
Scrape down sides and add olive oil--process until it's your desired consistency.
Heat vegetable broth to a boil, and stir in pesto.
Add tortellini, peas and tomatoes, and boil for as long as your tortellini package directions tell you (probably no more than 2 or 3 minutes).
That's it. You're done.