Broccoli Soup with Cheese Tortellini

Broccoli is a 51 Porter favorite!  Roasted...sauteed...and now, pureed!  This broccoli soup is very simple with a clean flavor.  It is packed with veggies and complemented by a splash of balsamic and a sprinkle of feta cheese.  The simple wonton wrapper sun-dried tomato, cheese tortellini add a bit of heartiness to this simple soup, but do not overwhelm the fresh, clean flavor of the star...broccoli.

For the soup
Ingredients:
*2 Tbs. olive oil
*5 cloves garlic, crushed
*3/4 cup chopped red onion

*3 large heads of broccoli, rinsed and chopped.  (make sure to chop the woody stems small)

*1 1/2 tsp salt

*1 tsp black pepper

*1/2 cup white wine

*About 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock (you can use 1/2 water, 1/2 vegetable stock)

*2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (more for topping)

*2 cups fresh spinach.

*Feta or goat cheese for topping (Plain Greek yogurt would be a great topper as well)

*Tortellini (see recipe below or use you favorite store-bought variety and cook according to package directions)

Directions:

1.)  Heat oil in a large soup pan over medium to high heat.

2.)  Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes, until translucent and starting to brown.

3.)  Add the garlic and saute another minute.  Add the woody ends of the broccoli and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add the remaining broccoli florets.  Season with salt and pepper.

4.)  Add the wine and stock/water. Bring to a boil and let simmer about 15 minutes.  Stir in balsamic and season with a bit more salt and pepper.

5.)  Puree the soup in batches in a food processor.  At this point, you might want to puree in some feta to make a creamy soup (about 1/2 cup crumbled feta would do the trick).  While the soup purees in batches, add the spinach.  This will keep the color a nice bright green.

6.)  Return to soup pot to keep warm and check for seasonings.

7.)  For the tortellini, I had wonton wrappers and some goat cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes.  You can just as easily use a store-bought variety.  Butternut squash and cheese tortellini would also complement this soup very well.  For these tortellini, I made about 16.  Combine 3 Tbs goat cheese, 1/3 cup crumbled feta (you could use all goat or all feta), 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, a handful of chopped spinach, salt, and pepper.  Place about 1 tsp of the filling in each wonton wrapper. Brush water or egg-wash around the wonton wrapper edges and fold over to make a triangle.  To make the tortellini shape, just pinch the two bottom points of the triangle.  Boil for about 3 minutes in salted water, or until the little gems float to the top.

To Serve:  Place about 3-4 tortellini on top of warm bowls of the broccoli soup.  Top with a bit more crumbled feta and another splash of balsamic.  

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