Italian Lasagna Soup

I have come across many recipes for Italian Lasagna Soup. There are so many variations which makes it easy to adapt for picky eaters! Of all the ones, I have tried, this one is my favorite. My boys love this soup.  Full disclosure, I leave out the spinach in their bowls, but, you could easily add in a lot more veggies if you wanted to. I like using Orzo noodles but, broken up lasagna noodles would be great too.

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef – 1 pound (454 grams)
• Orzo pasta – 1.5 cups
• Beef Stock –  4 cups
• Tomato Paste – 4 tbsp
• Yellow Onion – 1 medium
• Crushed Tomatoes – 398 ml can (or 14.5 oz can)
• Ricotta Cheese – 1 cup
• Parmesan Cheese  shredded – ½ cup
• Baby Spinach –  2 hand fulls chopped
• Italian Spices (mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme) – 2 tbsp
• 2 tsp – sugar
• Salt/Pepper
• Garlic optional

Directions:

Peel & chop onion into ¼ inch pieces & roughly chop spinach

Bring medium pot of salted water to boil and add orzo. Cook for 8-10 min until tender but, still firm.   Strain, and return to pot off heat.

In a large pot – heat 1 tbsp butter and cook onions, 5 minutes, stirring often until softened.

Add ground beef and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces 4-5 min until no pink remains. (if desired, drain fat from beef)

Add Italian spices and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring often (30 sec) until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.

To the pot with the beef, add crushed tomatoes, beef stock, sugar. Bring to a boil over high, once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened.

In a medium bowl, add ricotta, half the parmesan & 2 tsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper, stir to combine.

TO FINISH!

To the soup, add the orzo, spinach and remaining parmesan. Season with salt & pepper, stir to combine.

Divide soup into 4 bowls. Dollop with ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with fresh basil or parsley.