I was in the mood for a warm, yet light, meal tonight – so soup it was. Too lazy to go grocery shopping over the weekend, I had to use what I had on hand...and it turned out pretty well!

Next time I may add white or garbanzo beans for protein, and I’ll definitely add in celery (just didn’t have it in the fridge). Kale or Swiss chard could be subbed for spinach (and fresh or frozen greens would work equally well). I also used a mix of dried and fresh herbs depending on what I still had available in my garden. Finally, most soup recipes tend to call for 4-6 cups of broth/stock. If I ever need to go past 4 cups (and I do here because I’m also using the liquid to cook the orzo), I make up the difference using water to limit sodium.

I love using orzo in soups because it continues to soak up the surrounding liquid hours after it's done cooking. By the time you hit the leftovers the next day, the individual orzo will be 3-4x its original size and you’ll go from a thinned soup to a much thicker version. Sometimes you’ll need to add a little water when you heat it up, depending on how thick you like it.

We paired this with a “bake-off-at-home” baguette and dipped it into olive oil that we brought back from our trip to Italy this summer. It was delicious and went down quite easily with red wine.

Ingredients

• Olive oil, 1 tablespoon
• Onion, I used 1 compartment of Dorot’s glazed sautéed onion, but typically about ½ a large yellow onion would work well
• Garlic, 3 minced cloves
• Carrots, 3 peeled and diced
• No-salt added diced tomatoes, 1 14 oz can
• Orzo, ½ cup dried (you can certainly add more, I just cut back because we paired the soup with another starch – bread)
• Low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock, 4 cups (32 oz carton)
• Water, 1-2 cups
• Parmesan cheese rind, 1
• Rosemary, dried, ½ teaspoon
• Thyme, fresh, 1-2 teaspoons
• Oregano, fresh, 1-2 tablespoons
• Herbs de Provence, dried, ½ teaspoon (probably overkill on the rosemary, thyme and oregano, but I just bought it last week and wanted to break it open)
• Baby spinach, 1 5oz bag
• Parmesan cheese, grated – to top to taste

Directions

1- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy pot. Dice the garlic, carrots, and onion (if using fresh). First add the onion and cook/sweat as desired, stirring frequently. A few minutes later add the garlic and carrots.
2- Add the orzo, can of diced tomatoes (including the juice), vegetable or chicken stock, water (tonight I added 1 cup), parmesan cheese rind, and herbs. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
3- Stir frequently (or the orzo will stick to the bottom of the pot) while simmering, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the spinach, stirring to combine. The heated soup will be enough to wilt the spinach quickly.
4- Cover and let sit for a while to blend the flavors. Alternatively, you hold on adding the orzo in step 2, then simmer everything else for 10-60 minutes to let flavors blend (you’ll likely need the full 2 cups of water if so, possibly more), add the orzo in the last 8-10 minutes to cook, and top it off with the spinach in the last 1-2 minutes.
5- Remove the cheese rind. Ladle into bowls and top with Parm before serving (no judgment on how much you use here…). Sip on your wine as you enjoy.

Like I said, no judgment on the amount of cheese used...

And just look at the 'tude on this guy's face because I wasn't sharing. If looks could kill...