Tomato Pasta Soup from The Blue Zones Kitchen for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the gorgeous The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Love to 100 by Dan Buettner as part of TLC Book Tours and posted my initial review earlier in the week. (You can see my review here.) I have multiple recipes tagged to make still and since my throat is still tender and I was not feeling like making big efforts in the kitchen, I chose the simple Tomato Pasta Soup from the blue zone of Ikaria, Greece to make for Souper Sundays.

This soup requires almost no effort at all to make. If you are using canned tomatoes, there's not even any chopping and the soup is vegan. Perfect for when you need something easy and satisfying.

Tomato Pasta Soup
Reprinted From The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner
(Makes 4 Servings)

Dan Buettner says, "My Ikarian guide Eleni's 103-year-old grandmother taught me this easy soup recipe, which she called kritharaki. She whipped it up quickly, and it satisfied me as much as a meal that takes 20 times longer to prepare. Made with tiny, torpedo-shaped orzo, a Greek variation on risotto, this is peasant food at its best--healthy, hearty, and simple."

4 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 fresh vine-ripened tomato, chopped (or one 15-oz can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes)
1 cup roasted tomato sauce, either fresh or store bought
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb orzo or similar short-cut pasta
1 tsp salt
salt and pepper (optional)

In a large soup pot, bring water and broth to a boil.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, olive oil, orzo, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to low and bring pot to a simmer. Cook until you see very small bubbles and broth is thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally so orzo doesn't stick to bottom of pan. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes/Results: Just a good and simple tomato pasta soup, really more of a stew with the way the orzo absorbs the broth (I added an extra couple of cups of broth at the end to thin it out just a bit. I also used a garlic olive oil, garlic fire-roasted tomatoes and a good garlic spaghetti sauce too for maximum flavor. This is the perfect "I don't feel like cooking" soup--add a salad for a light but filling meal. I would make it again.

I'll be cooking more from The Blue Zones Kitchen.

Note: A review copy of "The Blue Zones Kitchen" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for my review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.  

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

Let's see who's here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week:

Debra of Eliot's Eats shared another soup from The Blue Zones Kitchen, Healthy Minestrone Soup. She says, "It was definitely soup weather so I tried one of three hearty minestrone recipes from the Sardinian section. ... The flavor of this soup is fresh and delicious. I had a hard time following the directions (I’ve revised them here). I think things just got confusing whether you were using dried beans or canned. Also please know that you will need to use your largest soup pot."

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared her Vegetable Kabob Appetizers--like a salad on a stick. She says, "I like this type of appetizer because it can be made in advance, it doesn't need to be heated before guests arrive, and it's versatile, making it very practical for the host. I used pickled beets, mozzarella balls, artichoke hearts, and different colored cherry tomatoes. If you prefer a vegan skewer, omit the mozzarella balls. If you don't like beets (my husband despises them), substitute something else."

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brought Red Lentil Soup inspired by Cook the Books February/March selection, Pomegranate Soup. She said, "There were so many interesting dishes served up in this book but the recipe for lentil soup grabbed me right away. I had been wanting to make red lentil soup for a long time."

Thank you to all who joined me this week!

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!