Tomato Soup with Pasta

A chunky, rustic tomato soup with broken vermicelli cooked right in the broth, turning a simple bowl of soup into something that actually fills you up. Carrots, celery, and onion build the base while basil ties everything to the tomatoes.

Frying the tomatoes with the vegetables before adding stock is what makes this taste like more than canned soup warmed up. Those three minutes in hot oil concentrate the tomato flavor and caramelize the natural sugars in the carrots and onion. The stock goes in after, deglazing all that good stuff off the bottom of the pot.

The pasta goes in during the last stretch of cooking so it doesn’t turn to mush. Vermicelli cooks fast, so keep an eye on it. You want it tender with a little bite, not bloated and falling apart.

Chef Tips

• Break the vermicelli into short pieces before adding to the pot. Long strands in soup are a mess to eat.
• Use the best stock you can get. With this few ingredients, watery stock means watery soup.
• If making ahead, cook the pasta separately and add it when reheating. Pasta left sitting in broth overnight soaks up all the liquid and turns soggy.

Variations

• Add a can of white beans for extra protein and body.
• Stir in a spoonful of pesto right before serving for a deeper herbal punch.
• Use ditalini or small shells instead of vermicelli for a chunkier soup.