Onion Broth with Tortellini

When I started making this soup I kept on wondering who was going to eat 2Ib (900g) of onions in chicken stock. Surprisingly, the soup tastes really nice and the secret ingredient here is the balsamic vinegar. Please do not substitute the balsamic vinegar with red or white wine vinegars. It’s not the same. I was so hungry so I ladled all the soup and we started eating then I remembered about photos…I had almost finished the soup and the garlic bread was never made (LOL). Enjoy your day.

Cook bacon then cook onions and leek myfavouritepastime.com

Continue cooking onions till water evaporates myfavouritepastime.com

Continue until golden then add potatoes and stock myfavouritepastime.com

Cook the bacon or pancetta. Add onions, leeks, chilli flakes and a little salt and cook onions till water is evaporated and onions are very soft and slightly golden then add the potatoes and stock and cook till potatoes are tender.

add tortellini myfavouritepastime.com

adjust seasoning and add balsamic vinegar myfavouritepastime.com

Add the pasta and cook as per packet instructions. Adjust the seasoning and add balsamic vinegar. Serve with Parmesan and a dollop of cream and garlic bread on the side.

Onion Broth with Tortellini

Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

1-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
125g (4oz) bacon or pancetta diced into small pieces
6 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced thinly 900g (2Ib)
1-2 leeks washed thoroughly, sliced into half lengthwise and sliced thinly (4 cups sliced)
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
3 teaspoons brown sugar
7 cups chicken stock (broth)
1 cup diced potatoes
6oz (180g) store-bought tortellini
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan to serve
Toasted Garlic Bread to serve

Instructions

(You need a huge pot for this recipe.) Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook until nicely browned. Add the onions, leeks, chilli flakes, sugar and a little salt, and cook stirring occasionally until the onions and leeks are soft and all the water has evaporated, about 15-20 minutes. After the water has evaporated, continue cooking over medium heat stirring, occasionally, until the onions turn very soft and golden in colour.
Add the chicken stock (broth) and potatoes and bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes.
Now, add the pasta and cook as per packet instructions (5-7 minutes). Once pasta is ready, adjust the seasoning, add the balsamic vinegar and serve soup with toasted garlic bread.
The soup is sweetish-if you don’t like the sweet side, reduce the brown sugar or totally omit it. It however, tastes nice, with the brown sugar. If you have some sour cream, you can serve with a dollop of sour cream and some Parmesan cheese.

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