Caramelised Tomato & Orzo Soup
This caramelised tomato & orzo soup is super creamy & hearty, with a gentle kick of chilli. Topped with parmesan, for a flavourful lunch!
Servings: 4 Portions
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Jug Blender
- Microplane/Grater
Ingredients
Soup
- 400 g Tinned Plum Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Red Onion Finely Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic Grated
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- ¼ tsp Chilli Flakes Optional
- 2 Chicken Stock Cubes Crumbled Up
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tsp Caster Sugar
- 150 g Dried Orzo
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 50 ml Double Cream
To Serve
- 2 tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley
- Parmesan Grated
Instructions
Soup
- Tip the tin of tomatoes into a jug blender then fill the empty tin up with water twice & add to the tomatoes. Blitz until smooth then set aside.
- Next, place the veg oil into a large saucepan, set over a medium heat then once hot, add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft then stir in the grated garlic & chilli flakes (if using) then cook for another minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste then cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring almost constantly.Cook the tomato paste until it darkens in colour. This caramelises it, adding extra flavour to our soup.
- Next, add in the blitzed tomatoes, stock cubes, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar & sugar then bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the stock.
- Season the soup with salt & pepper then stir in the orzo & add in the bay leaf. Reduce the heat down to medium-low then simmer, stirring regularly until the orzo is cooked al dente. This will take 10-15 minutes.If the soup gets too thick, add in some extra water or stock.
- Once the orzo is cooked, stir in the double cream then taste to check the seasoning, adding in more salt & pepper as needed.
To Serve
- Just before serving, stir the chopped parsley into the soup then spoon into bowls. Top each portion with a generous amount of grated parmesan then serve immediately.
Notes
1. Cooking On An Aga - Cook the onion & tomato paste and bring the soup to a boil on the boiling plate. Cook the orzo on the boiling plate then if the soup gets too hot, move over to the simmering plate.
2. Tinned Tomatoes - A good tin of tomatoes is key here! I'd recommend Mutti. If you haven't got tinned plum tomatoes, finely chopped will work as well.
3. Chicken Stock - If you'd prefer to make this soup vegetarian, use veg stock cubes instead of chicken.
4. Chilli Flakes - For a gentle kick of chilli, I like to add a quarter tsp of dried chilli flakes into the soup. Feel free to use more chilli or leave them out if you'd prefer.