Six cups of broth and only a 9-ounce package of tortellini. That ratio is deliberate: this is a brothy soup with pasta in it rather than a pasta dish that happens to be wet.
Smoked paprika is what gives the broth its orange tint. A half teaspoon, cooked with the garlic and oregano for thirty seconds, colours the whole pot without making it taste smoky.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking the oregano and paprika in oil for thirty seconds carries their colour and aroma through six cups of liquid.
- Dicing the chicken means it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit in ten to twelve minutes rather than needing to be pulled and shredded.
- Adding the tortellini after the chicken keeps it from overcooking while the protein catches up.
- Lemon juice goes in with the spinach at the very end, where it stays sharp.
Ingredient Notes
- Cheese tortellini
- One 9-ounce package, cooked to its own package timing in the broth.
- Crumbled feta
- Three-quarters of a cup, added in the bowl rather than the pot so it stays in visible crumbles.
- Smoked paprika
- Half a teaspoon. It is where the broth's orange tint comes from.
How to Make It
Soften and bloom
Cook onion in oil for 5 minutes; add garlic, oregano and paprika for 30 seconds.
Chicken to 165F
Add broth and chicken and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, until chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tortellini
Add tortellini and cook until tender according to package timing.
Spinach and lemon
Stir in spinach and lemon juice just until wilted.
Finish in the bowl
Ladle into bowls and finish with feta and plenty of black pepper.
What Goes In, and When
Thirty minutes of cooking, and almost all of the skill is in the order. Each thing waits for the one before it to be done.
0 to 5 minutes
1 diced small onion in 1 tbsp olive oil
Softening, not browning.
30 seconds
3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
The paprika colours the whole pot from here. In oil it blooms; in broth it would just sit there.
10 to 12 minutes
6 cups chicken broth and 1 lb of diced chicken breast
The protein goes first because it takes the longest and sets the 165F clock.
Package timing
1 package (9 oz) cheese tortellini
After the chicken, so the filled pasta is never held at a simmer waiting for it.
Last, off the heat
4 cups baby spinach and 1 tbsp lemon juice
Both lose what they bring if they are boiled - the spinach its colour, the lemon its sharpness.
In the bowl
3/4 cup crumbled feta and plenty of black pepper
Never in the pot. This is the component the finished soup is named for and it has to stay visible.
Success Tips
- Follow the tortellini package rather than a fixed time; filled pasta splits when it is pushed too far.
- Add the feta at the table. Stirred into a hot pot it melts away and the soup loses its defining component.
- Be generous with the black pepper — the finished bowl carries plenty of it.
Serving Ideas
Six servings, brothy and orange-tinted, each bowl finished with crumbled feta and plenty of black pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stir the feta into the soup?
No. It goes on in the bowl, which is how it stays as visible crumbles.
Should it be thick?
No. Six cups of broth to one 9-ounce package of tortellini keeps it brothy.
How do I know the chicken is cooked?
165 degrees Fahrenheit, at 10 to 12 minutes of gentle simmering.
