Tortelloni in Vegetable & Herb Broth

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
2 tomatoes
1 courgette (zucchini)
1 carrot
3.5 oz mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
1 vegetable stock cube
1 packet spinach & ricotta tortelloni
1 Tbsp coriander

Directions:
Core, deseed, and cube red pepper.
Skin, halve, deseed, and cube tomatoes.
Cut courgette and carrot into thin strips.
Slice mushrooms.
Heat oil in a large pan and fry the vegetables for a few minutes.
Crumble the stock cube into 1pt boiling water and add to the vegetables.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the tortelloni and cook for 7 minutes.
Serve in bowls, sprinkled with coriander.

Source: Somerfield Magazine, November 2008

Serves: 4 (but it actually only served the 2 of us tonight)

Prep Time: The recipe says it will only take 30 minutes. It took me longer because skinning tomatoes is NOT easy.

Marcos' Rating: 8

My Variations:

• So I didn't use vegetable stock because I didn't have it. Instead, I used chicken stock and it tasted great!
• I also didn't add mushrooms because I don't like them.
• My courgette was probably sliced a little too thin, so the slices ended up being a little mushy. But it still tasted great!
• And I didn't want to buy coriander just for this so instead I added basil and rosemary to the veggies and broth while simmering.
• A lot of water evaporated before I added the pasta so I added about a cup of water. After serving, Marcos added salt & pepper to taste.

We really enjoyed eating this dish with bread to sop up the liquid. If I make it again, I'll probably leave the tomato skins on and see if it makes any difference. Seriously, who skins tomatoes?!

P.S. We call it "tortellini" in the states.