Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup

“I love tomato soup,” declared the Tiny Kitchen Assistant, apropos of nothing. “Ms. Z makes it for us all the time.”

As a kid who isn’t terribly fond of soup in general, this seemed too good to be true. I figured that I’d make the soup and he wouldn’t eat any, but hey, he couldn’t argue with me for making it in the first place, right? It was his idea, after all.

A friend pointed me in the direction of this recipe from the Food Network. “Just be aware,” she told me. “It requires a metric crapton of onions.”

I have to admit, there were vastly more onions than actually necessary. I also realized at the last minute that I had no saffron on hand; I didn’t notice that anything was missing.

Ingredients

Soup

• 3 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Grilled Cheese Croutons

• 6 (1/2-inch-thick) slices country white bread
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 4-6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
  

Instructions

Soup

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook low and slow over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with water, add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. (It will finish cooking in the soup.)

Drain the orzo and add it to the soup. Stir in the cream, return the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Grilled Cheese Croutons

Heat a panini grill (or in my case, the George Foreman ghetto panini grill; seriously, this works). Place the four slices of bread on a cutting board and brush lightly with the melted butter, being sure to butter the corners. Turn the slices over and pile Gruyere on two of the slices. Place the remaining two slices of bread on top of the Gruyere, buttered sides up.

Grill the sandwiches on the panini grill for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Place on a cutting board, allow to rest for 1 minute and cut into 1-inch cubes for croutons, or 1-inch strips for the kiddo to dunk.

Results

“This is AWESOME!” declared the Tiny Kitchen Assistant. “This is the best meal since you invented lemon pasta!”

The Husband was equally enthusiastic. “What I like about the soup? Everything. What I like about the grilled cheese? Everything. This is really good.”

Tags: meatless, Recipe, sandwich, soup, stovetop

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