Zursun Heirloom Baby Borlotti Bean Soup with Cheese Tortellinis

By á-73576

Ingredients

• 1 pound Zursun Idaho Heirloom Baby Borlotti Beans, soaked in a pot of water overnight, water covering beans by a few inches
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped coarse
• 8-10 sprigs thyme, leaves slid off stem
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 8-10 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 pound cheese filled tortellinis, frozen, cooked according to package directions
• 1/2- 3/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, more or less to taste
• 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
• Parmesan cheese, enough for a sprinkle on the top of each finished bowl before serving
• extra virgin olive oil, enough to just drizzle on each finished bowl before serving, optional

Preparation

Step 1

Add olive oil to a large warmed iron enameled pot then stir in the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaves cooking on low heat for about five minutes until softened. Drop in the tomato paste and stir carefully throughout the vegetable mixture heating for two minutes before scraping in the chopped tomatoes and cooking another three or four minutes. Add in the parsley, thyme, and borlotti beans stirring and heating the ingredients together for a couple minutes before adding in the chicken stock increasing the temperature to medium heat until the borlotti bean soup mixture in the pot comes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the temperature back down to low, heat and simmer the soup in the pot for about an hour then add in the chopped zucchini and continue to cook around fifteen more minutes until the borlotti beans are fully cooked through but not mushy . Add in salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir through the cooked cheese tortellinis, check seasonings. Sprinkle in the basil. Ladle hot bowls of soup into individual bowls and top with some Parmesan cheese, drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, if desired.