I can not resist a lovely soup in the colder months, but one thing I can't stand is a mushy flavourless soup. So let me introduce you to this absolute power house, full of texture and herbaceous flavours plus a little bit of meat for the carnivores out there.
Never heard of orzo...? Where have you been for the last couple of years? Orzo is very much a food trend that appeared a couple of years ago and has just stuck around. Its basically a rice shaped pasta, perfect for baking up soups and stews and is even used as a replacement for risotto rice.
Serves 2-4 depending on your appetite!
Prep time 10mins
Cooking time 30mins
1.5tbsp olive oil
6 pork sausages, skins removed .. I love The Jolly Hog sausages.
1 white onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4tsp of salt
1/4tsp pepper
2tsp dried basil
2tsp dried oregano
300ml passata
1.5 pints of chicken chicken stock
1tsp sugar
135g orzo
Large handful of spinach
Fresh basil to serve (optional)
In a deep saucepan, with a lid available, heat the olive oil on a medium heat.
Once hot add the sausage meat, using a spoon or spatula ensure to break up any clumps as its cooking. We're looking to create a ground pork consistency bit like a crumble. Once cooked and crumbled, this should only take 6-7mins, remove and set aside.
In the same pan, add a dash more oil if needed and pour in the diced onion, carrot and fennel. Gently sauté on a medium heat until they start to soften, this should take around 10 mins. They should still have a little bite to them, I don't like veggies in my soup to be to soft.
Now add the garlic, dried herbs and about 1/4tsp each of salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
Re-add the sausage meat and give it a good stir. Now pour in the passata, the chicken stock and the sugar. Give it a stir, turn the heat up and bring to the boil.
Once the soup is boiling turn it down to a simmer and add the orzo. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10mins, stirring occasionally to make sure the orzo isn't sticking to the pan. You can add more stock at any point, don't forget this is a soup and not a sauce so we want it to have a soup consistency.
After about 10mins the orzo should be just cooked, now add in the spinach, stir and cook for another 2 minutes until it has wilted in the soup. Have a quick taste and add more salt and pepper if you require.
Serve nice and hot with some lovely crispy croutons or crusty bread, and garnish with a little fresh sliced basil.
Like a bit of spice, why not add 1/2tsp of chilli flakes at the same time as the rest of the herbs.
Want some super sized croutons? Cut some large cubes out of fresh uncut bread, removing the crust, toss in olive oil and toast in the oven at 200ºc for 8mins until gold and crisp.
