Friday, May 11, 2007

Vegetable Soup with Orzo

It's time to satisfy those pasta cravings with another edition of Presto Pasta Nights, hosted by Ruth from Once Upon A Feast.

The pasta I'm using this week is Orzo

Orzo© by haalo


It may look like rice but it is a durum wheat pasta and I will be using it in a very traditional manner - in a simple vegetable soup.

Vegetable Soup with Orzo© by Haalo


Vegetable Soup with Orzo
[For 2]

1 large red onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 small red capsicum, finely diced
1 large stalk of celery, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely diced
1 large tomato, diced finely
fresh peas
salt and freshly ground white pepper
handful of orzo, per person


I've made a very simple vegetable soup and the ingredients should only be used as a guide - feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand.

Place a little olive oil and butter into a saucepan over a medium heat - when butter has melted add the onion, carrot, celery and red capsicum and cook slowly until the vegetables start to soften (you may need to turn the heat down to ensure they don't colour).

Now add the zucchini and cook until it has started to soften and then tip in the tomato. Wait until the tomato starts to break down before adding the orzo followed by enough boiling water (or stock if so desired) to cover the vegetables by about 2cm/1inch.

Turn the heat up to maintain a boiling temperature and cook for about 5 minutes. Remember to keep stirring so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the fresh peas and then taste and season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Turn off the heat and cover and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes - during this time the pasta will finish cooking by absorbing the cooking stock but won't become mushy.

Before serving add a little more stock if it looks a little dry and bring it back to temperature.

Vegetable Soup with Orzo© by Haalo


If you like, sprinkle each bowl with a little freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

11 comments

  1. That looks absolutely delishes, hehehe, theres sunday dinner works out for me :P

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  2. Now Haalo, you got me. If I had me if I had to choose wich pasta I like the most, it has to be orzo. It reminds me so much of my childhood when at my grandmother's house she used to serve in a soup or a milk soup(it may sound strange but it was divine). And it is also very good in salads with seafood.

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  3. A perfectly gorgeous soup. I love how the peas make it look very Springy. Since the fog just rolled in here in Halifax and the warm weather has gone for a while, it's the perfect comfort food.

    Thanks so much for playing Presto Pasta Nights.

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  4. Haalo, this is the perfect recipe for me!
    It's probably going to be 11ºC tonight - this soup would be the an amazing dinner!

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  5. That looks so delicious and fresh!

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  6. haalo - i got a real bad, nasty cold and i think this soup is exactly what the doctor ordered. oh this looks yum and fresh and just wonderful. good job!

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  7. AnonymousMay 12, 2007

    looks devine...a great summery meal..thanks for sharing

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  8. Thanks BM!

    It's a great pasta shape Rose and more special when you have such lovely memories of it.

    Thanks Ruth!

    Thanks Patricia - hard to go wrong with simple flavours.

    Thanks Caty!

    Relaxing with a nice bowl of soup should help you get over that cold Myriam.

    Thanks Dilip!

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  9. AnonymousMay 13, 2007

    I love orzo! Reminds me so much of rich, which I also love. ;-)

    Paz

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  10. The soup has a vibrant glow to it, and perfect for this time of year (having said that, it's been raining all weekend here in Hackney). I've seen orzo at my friend Alex's house but we've never made anything with it. Maybe we're just boring because when we cook pasta we always seem to use tagliatelle, farfalle or fusilli, we really should start using a wider variety of pasta types

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  11. It's a great pasta Paz - I think I saw a recipe somewhere that used Orzo to make risotto!

    Hi Trig - it's really interesting to see how the shape and the sauce work together and using the right shape can make that pasta dish really special. I must admit I love farfalle.

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