Tomato and Vegetable Soup with Orzo – Sebzeli Seriye Corbasi

Posted by Ozlem on Oct 20, 2010 in Soups, Uncategorized | 0 comments

This comforting, healthy vegetable soup gets ready in minutes and it is one of my favourites. Soup is an important part of Turkish cuisine and it is served as the first course at meals. In rural parts of Turkey, it is also common to have soup for a substantial breakfast.

As a variety, you can add croutons and some grated cheese over this soup when serving. I also like to add some coarsely sliced avocado in mine. With a squeeze of lemon over the top and little red pepper flakes, it does warm your heart and soul, and makes a wonderful lunch or light dinner.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
400gr/14oz can of chopped tomatoes
60gr/ 1/3 cup orzo
1.2lt/2pints/5 cups of water (or vegetable or chicken stock if you like)
30ml/2tablespoons olive oil
Handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes and wedges of lemon to serve

In a heavy medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook gently for about 2 minutes, until it is softened. Add the carrots and can of chopped tomatoes, mix well. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper and bring the liquid to boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Then add orzo and cook for another 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the chopped parsley, check the seasoning and turn the heat off. Serve hot with sprinkle of red pepper flakes over the soup and wedges of lemon and nice crusty bread by the side.

Afiyet Olsun! (means “May you be healthy and happy with the food you eat”)