Alphabet Soup

 

It won't be long now before the children all go back to school.  The shops are full of school supplies and the kids are getting excited at the prospect. I was always a child that really looked forward to the beginning of the school year and I loved the smell of new pencils, crayons and notebooks.  

In the U.K. children usually have a hot dinner for lunch at school and can look forward to having their tea/supper not too long after they get home from school at the end of the day.  This soup recipe I am sharing with you today would make the perfect light supper or even lunch for hungry youngsters!

I know as a child, alphabet soup was one of my favorite things. It was so much fun spelling things out in my bowl, and then eating them in one bite.  Did you like to do that?

 

The Alphabet Soup recipe I am sharing with you today is one I which I adapted from Ricardo Cuisine.  It looked really delicious, but of course I took a few liberties with it, as you do.

The original recipe was very plain and did not have any flavors or seasonings added, par the onion, some stock and salt and black pepper.

I added a bit of butter and some garlic, because I like garlic. I also added parsley because I feel parsley goes very well in tomato soup.  I should have added a hint of honey to help to take away any acidity from the tinned tomatoes, and next time I will.

Don't fash yourself if you cannot find alphabet pasta noodles. You can use any tiny pasta shape in this. Baby shells would be lovely as would ditalini, or even pasta hoops.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ALPHABET SOUP

Just a few simple storecupboard ingredients. There is nothing too complicated here. No alphabet pasta?  Simply use any other small pasta shape, or even broken spaghetti. 

• 1 (28 oz/796g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 5 cups (2.75 liters) of good chicken stock (I use better than bullion stock concentrate, reconstituted)
• 1 small bay leaf, broken in half
• 1/2 TBS parsley flakes
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup (60g) alphabet noodles or other small shaped pasta

The original recipe used only olive oil. I chose to use a mix of butter and light olive oil to give the soup an even richer flavor.  When I was a child, I always loved to add a tablespoon of butter to my bowl of tomato soup.

I chopped my onion and my garlic, really fine so that there would not be large chunks of them in the soup.

The parsley, bay leaf and garlic are my own addition. The original recipe had none of those. I felt that it needed a bit of oom-pa-pa!  You can always leave them out if you wish to stay true to the original recipe.

Use a good quality tinned tomato. Tomatoes are the most important ingredient in this recipe so using a good one is integral to the taste, in my opinion.  I used Mutti, Italian Plum tomatoes.

 

HOW TO MAKE ALPHABET SOUP

The hardest part of making this soup was spelling "Love You" in the finished bowl of soup. Quick, easy and delicious!

Heat the butter and the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion. Cook and sweat for 5 to 6 minutes until softened without coloring.

 

Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer until fragrant. Do not allow to brown.

Add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf and parsley. Bring to the boil.

 

Stir in the noodles and cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Fish the bay leaf out of the pot and discard.  Serve the soup hot and ladled into heated bowls. Enjoy!

 

This was really delicious. I loved that it was really simple to make. You could of course leave out the garlic and the parsley, or even the bay leaf. I found that they gave a lovely flavor to the soup however.

If you wanted to you could add a teaspoon of honey to the soup to help dispel any acidity to the tomatoes and give just a hint of natural sweetness.

I enjoyed my soup with a delicious grill cheese sandwich, made with two slices of buttered sour dough bread and some Extra Cheddar Cheese slices. This was a fabulous meal.  (I did cut the recipe in half for just myself as I did not want to be eating it for days and days.  I do not think it would freeze well because of the pasta, which would get pretty soft and over cooked.)

 

I am always happy with a bowl of soup for lunch or for supper, and actually when I add a sandwich, that becomes supper to me!  If you are a lover of soups, you might also enjoy the following tasty soup recipes!

STONE SOUP - Stone soup was a story my children always enjoyed when they were growing up. That age old tale about a man with a pot of boiling water who somehow talks a whole town of people who would not give him a crust of bread to contribute to his soup! With a bit o this and a bit of that, they end up with a really delicious soup for everyone to share and new friends are made. This soup is a bit like that, with a bit of this, a bit of that,  and a whole lot of nothing, put together to make a delicious heart warming soup!

LITTLE MEATBALL SOUP - Its amazing what you can do with a tin of tomatoes, a package of sausage meat, some stock, seasonings and some macaroni.  This deliciously hearty soup is fantastic ladled into heated bowls and topped with a smattering of good grated cheese!  Some garlic toast on the side would be great! 

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Alphabet Soup

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min

A fabulous tomato soup that is quick and easy to make. Children love spelling out their names in it. This tasty soup goes great with a grilled cheese sandwich for a quick, easy, and delicious supper!

Ingredients

You will need:

• 1 (28 oz/796g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 5 cups (2.75 liters) of good chicken stock
• 1 small bay leaf, broken in half
• 1/2 TBS parsley flakes
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup (60g) alphabet noodles or other small shaped pasta

Instructions

1. Heat the butter and the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion. Cook and sweat for 5 to 6 minutes until softened without coloring.
2. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer until fragrant. Do not allow to brown.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juices, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf and parsley. Bring to the boil.
4. Stir in the noodles and cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked and tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Fish the bay leaf out of the pot and discard.
6. Serve the soup hot and ladled into heated bowls. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

 This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen.

Also, if you have not checked out my YouTube Channel yet, do give it a gander. I would really appreciate it,  and if you want to subscribe that would be even more appreciated!  Thank you so much!  It is not really fancy like some people's channels. I am very much learning as I go along, but what you get is authentic at least! There is nothing fake there! No filters, bells or whistles. Filmed in real time and unedited!