Creamy Tomato and Ravioli Soup

Back when I was in college, I was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship. Nominated, at least, by a faculty member. The next step was to receive an endorsement from the college itself, and I never made it past that stage. The school could only send along the names of two students, and apparently the committee decided they didn't want some long-haired, earring-wearing dude whose main ambition in life was to be lead singer of Don't Kick the Baby to represent the college.

Of the two chosen, one was a pre-med major who started the first ever Tae Kwon Do club in northeast Iowa, something the committee, I guess, thought was more significant than writing songs about losing your parrot and cheating on your girlfriend in Budapest. He went on to be a heart surgeon at--*YAWN!*--the Mayo clinic. The year I was in Hong Kong on a Fulbright, the college alumni magazine ran a little--really little--article about my grant. Opposite it, they ran a full page--as in, one WHOLE page--article featuring old what's-his-face karate guy, talking about how he promised some little girl he was about to cut open that she wouldn't die and that he would (I'm not making this up) "dance with her at her senior prom." And then he did. Cut her open, I mean, and saved her life, and danced with her her senior year. Which is pretty cool, I must admit, but even so: I was in Hong Kong, eating dim sum and buying custom-made suits. Surely that's almost as important as saving some kid's life?

Oh well.

Anyhow, the other person chosen to represent my school was this smart, tough, funny, field-hockey playing braniac name Julie. And while I was tempted to be annoyed with Julie for taking MY spot at the regional Rhodes interviews, I'd had her in a class or two and I think she was an RA with me, and I kind of had to admit tha she was actually fairly brilliant and impressive in a midwestern kind of way. Anyhow, Julie went on to become a college professor just like me, fighting the good fight for crap pay and minimal perks. You got to respect that. And then she gave me this recipe. So needless to say, all is forgiven.

This soup is pretty self-explanatory. Like the veggie chili from a few weeks back, it has a few cans, but boy does it have a lot of flavor. And the kids really gobbled it down.

Two minor points before you start:

1) If you're a vegetarian, I'm guessing the chicken broth could be replaced with veggie broth.

2) If this turns out to be too much, the next time you cook it go all the way through the recipe and stop JUST BEFORE adding the ravioli. At that point, remove half the broth from the pot and put it in the refrigerator along with half of the UNCOOKED ravioli. Then save it for another day.

Creamy Tomato and Ravioli Soup

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained

2 cans condensed tomato soup

2 cans of milk (use the tomato cans. um, duh.)

14.5 oz. can chicken broth (or veggie broth)

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

1 9 oz. package cheese tortellini or cheese ravioli

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, saute the onions and garlic for three minutes at medium-high heat
2. Add the roasted tomatoes, the soup, the milk, the chicken broth, the tomato paste, the parmesan, and the basil
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through
4. Add the tortellini or the ravioli, and cook for approximately nine minutes
5. Remove from heat and serve

Family Ratings:

Will, who likes to be clever: 8.9999 repeating

Lucy, who will eat a chicken tail but doesn't like cooked tomatoes: 8

Jamie, who had trouble eating the big raviolis: 7