Vegetable Soup with Orzo
November 24, 2008 | Filed Under Carrots, Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once blog, Fellow Bloggers, Green peas, Orzo, Pasta, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Sweet Peas, Vegetables
Oh! The past couple of days have been extremely cold. This past Saturday was the coldest day so far. Freezing.
I wanted something hot. Something to warm me up. Then I remember a simple soup recipe from Haalo (Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once). I’d saved it a long time ago. It was time to pull it out. I liked that the recipe was simple. I like simple recipes. I like no fuss recipes. This was my kind of recipe.
It called for fresh peas. I bought frozen peas, which worked fine. The recipe also called for capsicum. Capsicum? What was that? I had no idea. After looking it up, I found that that it’s a common name in Australia and Britain for pepper. In North America and Canada, it is commonly known as Bell Pepper ( In other countries it’s also known as Cayene Pepper, African Chillies, Tabsco Peppers, Pimiento and more.). Ahhh! Now I understood. One Red Bell Pepper coming up. I love to learn something new from my fellow bloggers.
I prepared my soup. It tasted delicious! I offered some to my mom. At first she was hesitant and then she said, "yes."
She finished one bowl and then asked, "Is there any more soup?"
LOL! Yup! My soup tasted Mmm, Mmm good. We were both warmed up by this simple, delicious Vegatable Soup with Orzo.
Even one of my dogs got in on the action when I left a few drops in the bowl. I turned around for just a second and she reached up on her hind legs and pulled the bowl down to the ground from the table. She quickly cleaned it out with her long tongue. Yup! I’ll say that even the dog enjoyed the soup, too.
Thanks Haalo for this recipe!
Paz
Little bit of soup left in the bowl, before the dog got to it. *sigh*
Vegetable Soup with Orzo
Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once
For two
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.
Comments
19 Responses to “Vegetable Soup with Orzo”
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Cold temps . . . Hot soup and this one looks perfect!
Nice job Paz.
I’m sure it tasted good! This soup looks really delicious!
Cheers and have a nice week,
Rosa
Wow ! You freezing and we melting
The soup looks delicious,and perfect for cold days.
looks perfect for the cool weather here too, stay warm!!
These kinds of soups are my favorite — easy, accommodating, delicious.
Great photos! It certainly does look delicious. No wonder the dog couldn’t resist! I’m convinced that Haalo is a great cook, don’t you agree?
Oh that looks wonderful – I love orzo and I love simple recipes – perfect! And isn’t it funny how we can confuse ourselves by calling the same ingredient by 10 different names?!
I love orzo…but some reason never made soup using it…which is strange, b/c I’ve made soup using rice, and this is very similar
This looks like a tasty yet simple soup. I love the idea of cooking the orzo in the soup. I’d throw some parmesan in there
Oh, that is my kind of soup…no meat in!! LOL! ;o) This looks so good…and just the thing for now, as it is bbbbrrrrr-cold over here and very much soup weather. Glad this got the dogs seal of approval too! ;o) Happy Day, Paz ((HUGS))
~I love soup~
I know i would be happy eating it every night~ with some good crusty bread~
This just looks perfect for a cold night~
~Amy~
Hot soup is one of the few things to like about cold weather! I started a beef broth last night – today I will turn it into a beef barley soup. Maybe veggie soup with orzo later this week: supposed to get cold and wet over the holiday.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to you Paz, and to everyone on the blog. May you all be safe and well.
That sounds like a flavorful veggie soup, I must try it. I can’t have orzo but could try rice or quinoa (maybe pre-cook it and add it at the end to soak up the flavors, perhaps).
I keep forgetting about soup. For years, that was all I cooked. I like bean soups the best, especially black bean or blackeyed peas. Mmmmm. Had fava beans/foul moudammas tonight for dinner, but that was a dip rather than soup.
I feel warmer after reading your blog entry. Thanks.
This looks both warming and refreshing…light enough to be a starter, and maybe hearty enough to be a lunch by itself.
Good one!
Hi Tanna: This soup WAS perfect for the cold weather!
Hi Rosa: Thanks! Have a great week, too!
Hi Sylvia: Send just a little bit of your hot weather this way.
Hi Kat: Thanks!
Hi Lydia: Yes, yes, and yes to your description.
Hi Kalyn: LOL! Yeah, THAT dog. *sigh* I’m convinced that Haalo, YOU and EVERYONE here are great cooks. I always enjoy learning something new from you all.
Hi Jeanne: LOL! Yes, all those confusing names!
Hi Olga: Try this one, I think you’ll like it!
Hi Veggiebelly: Welcome! I love the idea of the parmesan cheese included. Yum!
Hi Tracy: I defintely thought about you when I made this soup.
Yes, even the dogs liked it. Hugs right back!
Hi Amy: The only thing missing for me was the crusty bread. Next time!
Hi Terry: Your Beef Barley Soup sounds divine. Thanks for your Thanksgiving greetings. I wish the same for you.
Hi LynnH: Yes, the soup had a lot of flavor. I think it would still taste good even without the orzo. I used to eat ful long time ago. Loved it. Yes, it was more like a dip.
Hi Erik: Welcome and thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for stopping by, everyone!
Best,
Paz
Happy Thanksgiving… Enjoy your celebration…
Hi Mikky: Thanks!
Paz
I really like orzo but i have never had it in soup before. This sounds yum.
Looks very comforting. I didn’t remember what capsicum was either. I’ll remember now, thanks!