Tortellini Vegetable Soup
Dried cheese tortellini and freeze-dried vegetables, boiled into a soup that eats like dinner at a table.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 14 min
- total time
- 16 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried cheese tortellini | 3 oz | the shelf-stable dry kind, not refrigerated |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried mixed vegetables | 1/2 cup | carrot, corn, peas, green bean |
| Dried onion and celery flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 2 tsp | paste in a small jar or powder |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | sun-dried tomato bits work too |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Italian seasoning | 1 tsp | rosemary and parsley are the ones doing the work |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the dry shaker kind keeps for weeks |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil.
- Dump in the vegetables, onion and celery flakes, bouillon, tomato powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Simmer two minutes so the vegetables start drinking.
- Add the tortellini. Simmer 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing welds to the pot bottom. Check one before you trust the clock.
- Pull it off the heat, stir in the oil, and let it sit two minutes. It thickens as it stands.
- Top with parmesan. Salt and pepper last, after the bouillon has had its say.
The original is a stovetop soup built on frozen vegetables and refrigerated pasta, neither of which survives a pack. Dried tortellini and freeze-dried vegetables do the same job with no cooler, and they rehydrate in the same pot of broth that becomes the soup. Nothing is drained, so nothing is wasted.
Sequence matters more than the ingredient list. Vegetables go in first because they need the water more than the pasta does, and tomato powder early gives the broth time to stop tasting like dust. Dried tortellini takes real time, closer to twelve minutes than the two a fresh one needs, so plan the fuel for it. The oil goes in off the heat, where it stays as fat instead of boiling off into the broth.
Packing
Everything dry except the tortellini goes in one bag. Tortellini rides in its own bag because it is bulky and the edges puncture things. Oil in a dropper bottle, parmesan in a film canister.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken added in the last minute makes it a bigger dinner and drops the vegetarian tag.
- Swap tomato powder for a squeeze of tomato paste from a tube if you are car camping.
- Half the water and it becomes a sauced pasta instead of a soup.
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/vegetable-tortellini-soup