Orzo is a type of short-cut pasta and it tastes great with tomatoes, beans and spinach in a soup. The Italian orzo spinach soup recipe is easy to cook and prepare you can do it in less than an hour. The key ingredients are the seasonings with the white beans that gives the broth a rich and creamy taste. It also has tomatoes so it has that sweet and sour taste.
Utensils Needed
Ingredients
Directions:
Step 1: Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil with your Dutch oven then add the garlic and onion. Saute for about 1 minute then add the carrots.
Step 2: Give the ingredients a quick stir then add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, white beans and orzo.
Step 3: Give it a quick stir then season with thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Bring everything to a boil. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the beans and orzo are cooked.
Step 4: Add salt and pepper to taste then blanch the spinach leaves by placing them on top of the broth.
Step 5: Serve and enjoy!
Tips:
- You can add lemon juice in place of the tomatoes in case you don’t have any. Tomato sauce can work as well.
- You can add some tofu or mushrooms to the soup too.
- Can be served with crusty bread
Top 5 Benefits of Eating Orzo and Spinach
There are a lot of health benefits when eating this hearty soup. We’ll be enumerating just a few of them here.
- Orzo has twice the protein of brown rice and is low in fat.
- Both orzo and spinach contain good fiber that helps in the digestion of food and cleansing of the body.
- Spinach is packed with vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, and K1; folic acid, iron, and calcium.
- Helps you make your young children ease up to green leafy vegetables like spinach
- Orzo is high in carbohydrates for extra energy and spinach is high in fiber and protein to help strengthen muscles and immune system.
Key Ingredients:
Here’s a list of the key ingredients for the Italian Orzo Spinach soup recipe. The seasonings are most important to get that rich flavor but of course, if you don’t want to add a lot of seasoning, you can stick with the traditional salt and pepper.
Orzo
Orzo looks like rice or grain but it’s actually a short-cut pasta like macaroni. It’s easy to cook and incorporate into soup recipes and Italians usually use this for other types of dishes.
Spinach
The spinach is a wonderful green leafy vegetable that is rich in vitamins and minerals that would benefit the body in a lot of ways. It is originally grown in Persia but is now grown all over the world.
Thyme
An evergreen aromatic herb that is both good as medicine and an ingredient for cooking. It is considered a primary herb in Italian dishes and recipes. It has more flavor when it is fresh although it is hard to store so you usually see it dried when you buy.
Oregano
It is part of the mint family and is also aromatic with medicinal properties. It also gives a rich minty flavor to dishes such as soups and stews. Since it is minty, it may give you a stomachache if taken in very large quantities so it is mostly recommended to just add 1 tsp or 2 of it in cooking. It provides more flavor when dried and easily found in any grocery or supermarket.
Rosemary
A very fragrant evergreen set of leaves just like pine would be the rosemary. It is usually used in cooking because of its rich flavor. It is good in adding flavor to certain types of meat and vegetables and is also usually used in soups and stews.
Video
Here’s a wonderful variation of this recipe without using spinach in the soup.
Ingredients
Seasonings used:
- 1-2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- Pepper
Conclusion
Adding a little twist to your meals at home can spice up your life and it would be good for you and your family. Healthy living is not about skipping the fun stuff but finding the fun out of everything you do. This Italian orzo and spinach soup recipe would surely tingle your taste buds. We hope you try it and enjoy it. Happy cooking!