Ravioli Soup

This is a variation of my mom's tortellini soup. Feel free to use tortellini or ravioli. The ravioli is kind of fun because when you cut a ravioli before taking a bite,  some of the cheese seeps out into the soup. 


I made this soup after running two back to back marathons, training for Hinson Lake 24 hour Race. From start to finish, the soup takes 30 minutes to make and clean up is minimal. My husband said that he was surprised that I wanted to cook after running two marathons but I didn't mind because it was so easy. I always keep carrots, celery, onion, and garlic on hand. And I "stock up" on chicken stock when it's on sale or I buy it in bulk at Costco.  I bought the frozen ravioli from Costco and used about half the bag. When I realized that I had some fresh spinach in the fridge, I was good to go to make this quick and tasty soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil 

pinch of red pepper flakes

1medium onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 1/2 cartons of vegetable stock or chicken stock

 fresh or frozen tortellini or ravioli-eyeball the amount, can use mushroom or spinach filled but I prefer cheese filled

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Fresh basil and oregano, to taste (optional-I used fresh basil because I had some in the herb garden)

Chopped fresh tomato

Italian parsley, minced

Freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

In a stock pot, heat oil and saute onion, garlic, carrots and celery until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth. Turn heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook according to package directions. When tortellini is almost done add spinach,  herbs, and fresh tomato. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Garnish with sprinklings of parsley and cheese.

Garlic bread: minced garlic (the microplane grater is ideal for really mushing up the garlic-learned this trick from Rachael Ray), dried basil, olive oil, and romano or parm cheese (again using the grater). Stick it in the broiler for 5-10 minutes. Watch it carefully!