In an excerpt from his new book, Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking: Vegan Recipes, Tips, and Techniques, acclaimed food writer and Washington Post editor Joe Yonan provides ideas for creating Italian dishes without meat or dairy. It's a tricky feat, but tips like this one, a flavorful variation of Tortellini en Brodo, make it all the more appetizing.
Charring onions and carrots gives such flavorful depth to a broth, it's good enough to sip. Leaving the skins on the onions helps add color, too.
For this take on the classic Italian Tortellini en Brodo, seek out excellent vegan tortellini or make your own Ricotta Tortellini.
This makes a beautifully simple, restorative, light meal as is, but it wouldn’t be out of place to think about adding asparagus spears, cubed summer squash, or sliced mushrooms to the final broth.
Tortellini in Charred Onion & Carrot Brodo
4
servings10
minutes50
minutesIngredients
2 tablespoons 2 olive oil
2 large 2 yellow onions (10 ounces each), unpeeled, root end trimmed, cut into eighths
2 large 2 carrots (4 ounces each), scrubbed, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch chunks
4 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
6 cups 6 water
fine sea salt
2 9 ounce 2 packages store-bought vegan tortellini, such as Kite Hill, or 1 recipe Ricotta Tortellini
freshly ground black pepper, for serving (optional)
Calabrian chile oil or other chile oil, for serving (optional)
Parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish
Directions
- In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers (turn the vent on if you have one). Add the onions, cut-side down, along with the carrots and garlic, and cook undisturbed until blackened in spots, about 3 minutes.
- Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the carrots are soft, about 40 minutes.
- Pour the broth through a sieve into a bowl (compost the solids).
- Rinse the pot, return the broth to the pot, and stir in 2 teaspoons salt.
- Taste and season with more salt as needed.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and cover to keep warm.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the tortellini and cook according to the package directions or following the instructions for Ricotta Tortellini until tender.
- Drain.
- Divide the tortellini among shallow serving bowls and pour the broth over them.
- Grind pepper over each bowl, drizzle with some chile oil (if using), and garnish with parsley or cilantro.
- Serve hot.
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