Ravioli en Brodo

I love making soup in the winter. The night I made this, it was really cold here. It is from Ina Garten’s new book called Go-To Dinners. I thought it would be assembled meals, but it is in the usual cookbook categories. I would change out the ravioli for tortellini. It was awkward to integrate the large ravioli with a spoonful of soup. They had to be cut. I forgot to take a photo, but never fear we actually have leftovers. I will remember the second time around. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

• Good EVOO
• 2 C chopped yellow onions (1 1/2 – 2 onions)
• 2 C (1/2†thick) diagonally sliced carrots peeled (3-5 carrots)
• 1 1/2 C (1/2†thick) diced celery (3-6 ribs)
• 1 1/2 C (1/2†) diced fennel, top and core removed
• 8 C simmering chicken stock (I used my recently made turkey carcass/vegetable stock.)
• Italian Parmesan cheese rind (about 2 x3†)
• Freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, for serving
• Minced fresh dill or parsley, for serving
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat 1/4 C EVOO in a medium pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, and fennel and sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened.
3. Add the chicken stock, 2 C water, the Parmesan rind, 1 T salt (no, 1 t) and 1 t pepper.
4. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered , for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove the Parmesan rind and taste the soup for seasoning. (Remember parmesan cheese is salty. I also believe that Ina over salts her food. I didn’t have fresh dill so I added 1t dried at this point.)
6. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling water with 2 T salt as directed on the package, stirring occasionally. Drain and spread out on a plate so they don’t stick together.
7. For serving, place the warm ravioli in large soup bowls and ladle the hot soup over them. Sprinkle with Parmesan, dill and a squeeze of lemon and serve hot.