This is a simple soup to have that’s really tasty, cheesy, filling and heavenly by itself. In it lies all our favourite ingredients – macaroni and cheese for the big guy, chicken and carrots for the small guy, and basil and red bell pepper for me. The best thing about it is that I don’t have to cook a separate bowl of pasta or rice to go along with it because it is already a main dish in itself, fully loaded with all the healthy goodies such as tomatoes, leeks and garlic.
The most ideal time to have this is on a cold wet rainy day or on a frozen winter evening. Imagine cuddling on your sofa with a bowl of piping hot macaroni and soup cupped in your hands. Heavenly… mmmm…
Ingredients:
- Macaroni: 2 cups
- Olive oil: 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
- Butter: 1 tbsp
- Chicken breast: 500g, sliced thinly
- White onion: 1, finely chopped
- Carrot: 1, diced
- Leek: 1, leaves removed, sliced
- Red bell pepper: 1, deseeded, diced
- Garlic: 4 cloves, finely chopped
- Plain flour: 1/4 cup
- Chicken stock: 5 cups
- Diced tomatoes: 2 cans
- Sugar: 1 tsp
- Bay leaf: 2
- Parsley: 1 stalk, finely chopped
- Oregano: 1/2 tsp
- Cumin: 1/2 tsp
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
- Ground blackpepper: 1/2 tsp
- Basil: leaves from 1 stalk, roughly chopped
- Grated parmesan cheese: 1 cup
- Heavy cream: 2 cups
Method:
- Cook macaroni till al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan. Cook chicken breast till almost cooked. Set aside to cool.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter in pot. Cook onions and carrot for 4min till onions are soft.
- Add leek, red bell pepper and garlic. Leave to cook for another min.
- Stir in flour. Leave to cook for 1min.
- Stir in chicken stock, tomatoes with sauce, sugar, bay leaves, parsley, oregano, cumin, salt, blackpepper and basil. Let it boil, then simmer for 20min.
- Stir in parmesan cheese and heavy cream. Mix well.
- Stir in cooked macaroni and chicken.
- Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and basil leaves to serve.
Disclaimer:
- This recipe was kindly adapted from Carlsbad Cravings’ ‘Creamy Basil Parmesan Italian Soup‘.
Serving:
6 – 8 persons