Tortellini is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods! When I transitioned to a 100% plant-based diet, I thought that I would have to give up my delicious cheese tortellini forever. But then I discovered cashew ricotta tortellini! It's absolutely fabulous and works well with all kinds of vegan dishes. The best part of this comforting concoction is the addition of cashew cream in the final 5 minutes of cooking. Pop a few slices of rosemary bread into the toaster, spread them with a little vegan butter, and serve on the side for dipping. It's vegan comfort food at its finest!
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 32 oz carton vegetable broth or stock
- 14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 9 oz package refrigerated vegan tortellini (I use Kite Hill brand)
- 1 cup chopped spinach (I use frozen packaged spinach, thawed)*
- 1 cup cashew cream (easy recipe below)*
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 -4 hours
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast for cashew cream
Instructions for Cashew Cream:
Soak 3/4 cup raw cashews in a bowl of water for 2 - 3 hours. Drain and add cashews + 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast to a food processor. (I use a mini-processor for this.)
Add 1/4 cup water to cashews in processor, cover and pulse food processor on high repeatedly to chop and blend cashews with water. Remove lid several times and use a spatula to push the mixture down toward the blades.
Continue this process, adding small amounts of water, 1 Tbsp at a time, blending and scraping sides of food processor until desired creamy consistency is reached. The blending process usually takes 5 - 6 minutes of consistent mixing to reach a smooth consistency. If you still see small bits of cashew in your cream, continue blending.
When smooth, keep cashew cream covered and set aside.
Instructions for Soup:
In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add onion, garlic, nutritional yeast and Italian seasoning. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes.
Stir in the vegetable broth, tomatoes and tomato paste until ingredients are well-mixed. Bring soup to a boil, stir and turn down heat to low. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach, tortellini and 1 cup of the cashew cream. Simmer for another 5 - 6 minutes until tortellini is cooked.
Ladle soup into deep bowls, and serve with toasted rosemary bread and vegan butter.
Enjoy!!
Notes:
I keep frozen chopped spinach on hand for all kinds of dishes. It's much easier to measure out what you need and thaw it for 2 minutes in the microwave. You can also substitute freshly chopped spinach or kale in this recipe. Just be sure they wilt enough in the final 5 minutes of cooking.
I've included a link to a mini-food processor above, but you can also use a full-size food processor. The key to smooth cashew cream is continuous blending with small amounts of water until it's completely smooth. Cashew cream can be used in a variety of recipes and will keep well in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about 5 days.
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