Creamy Basil Parmesan Soup

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.