a hearty soup with escarole, white beans, and tortellini topped with a cheesy bacon crostini
Author:Kayla Howey
Ingredients
Scale
Winter Tortellini Soup
¼ lb bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large head escarole, roughly chopped
1 qt chicken stock
1 can (28 oz) plum tomatoes with juice
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lb cooked cannellini beans
1 lb tortellini, cooked
salt and pepper
Melted Parmesan Bacon Crostini
1 baguette, sliced ½ inch
olive oil
4 oz chunk parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a medium pot, add the bacon and heat over medium heat. Render the bacon, stirring often, until it is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve. Add the onion and red pepper to the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until tender. Add the garlic. Saute for a minute. Add the escarole. While the escarole cooks, blend the tomatoes until smooth. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and thyme sprigs to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the cannellini beans and tortellini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until serving.
Preheat the oven to 425F. Brush each slice of bread with olive oil. Lay the slices of bread on a sheet tray and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Grate a generous amount of parmesan onto each slice of bread. Return the tray to the oven and broil on high, just for a minute until the cheese is melted. Remove the bread from the oven and sprinkle the cooked bacon onto the bread.
To Serve
Serve each bowl of soup with a crostini on top. Grate more Parmesan cheese to garnish.