Tortellini Soup with Spinach and Tomatoes

Two weeks after finishing a half marathon, I am … running another half. It was a weird impulse to sign up for back-to-back halfs, and the experience has been challenging in a million ways: my legs are tired of doing loops around Central Park, my brain is fried from having to push myself through all of this training, my friends are sick of hearing me talking about running, and my stomach is tired of eating carbs.

Don’t get me wrong: I had a great time running the More/Fitness Women’s Half a few weeks ago, and I’m excited to do Half #2 this weekend in Washington, D.C. The Nike Women’s Half takes you around the National Mall and all of the monuments, and I’m sure the scenery will keep me going during the more grueling stretches of the race.

But while I’m looking forward to the race itself, I’m over the whole “training” part. Even the joy of carb-loading fades pretty quickly when you do it for weeks. I’ve had all of the rice, pasta, bread and bagels that a girl can eat. I don’t eat a ton of carbs when I’m not preparing for races, so it’s been a weird challenge for me to keep things creative, and not fall back on spaghetti with tomato sauce.

Enter this tortellini soup. After a completely unproductive (but totally fun!) weekend, I needed an easy recipe to throw together on Monday night. Somehow, tortellini soup popped into my head, and after a very quick Google perusal while walking to Whole Foods, I knew what I wanted. I usually have a process for planning meals, and this was one of the few times that an on-the-fly decision has really worked.

And man, did it work. This soup coaxes a ton of flavor out of a few basic staples: onions, garlic, canned tomatoes, an Italian seasoning spice blend and a hit of crushed red pepper. The secret game-changing ingredient is a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, which you can find either on the end of your block of Parm or sold in small containers in the cheese section of Whole Foods. The rind adds a salty, nutty, earthy kick to the soup, creating a complex broth for the tortellini to float in.

The end result is a soup that takes 20 minutes to make but tastes like it’s been simmering for hours. It’s got my necessary carbs, but it’s also full of spinach and tomatoes (and obviously some extra cheese). After Sunday, I’m going to need a little break from carbs, but this tortellini soup is a great send-off.

Tortellini Soup with Spinach and Tomatoes
Adapted from Food Network
Makes 4 main-course servings

– 1 tablespoon olive oil

– 1 small onion, diced

– 1 clove garlic, minced

– 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

– 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (preferably with Italian seasonings)

– 1 large piece (or two small pieces) of Parmigiano Reggiano rind

– 1 9-ounce package fresh tortellini (I used a provolone-prosciutto blend, but anything works)

– 5 ounces fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried

– 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

– 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings (or a blend of dried rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil)

– salt and pepper, to taste

– 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, very loosely packed

1) In a large pot, heat the oil, onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are beginning to brown, 5-7 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes and Parm rinds. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

2) Add the tortellini, spinach, crushed red pepper and Italian seasonings. Cook for the time specified on the tortellini package instructions (I only needed 2-3 minutes). Serve immediately, with a sprinkle of Parmesan and a slice of crusty bread.