I’ve written about our pasta soup before, but since we eat it at least once a fortnight (and often, once a week), I thought it was worth a revisit.
It really is survival soup, put together from all the bits and pieces left over in the fridge. We often make it on a Thursday or Friday night, prior to going to the markets, to use up all the odds and ends in the vegetable drawer. As a result, it varies from week to week, which keeps it interesting.
The soup is constructed from pantry ingredients that we always have on hand. Here’s a breakdown of what we use:
1. Something to flavour the stock. Normally ham bones that our friends at Paesanella save for us, but you could also just use packaged stock, or even, at a pinch, stock powder. If you’re buying stock, get a one litre carton – don’t buy the salt reduced, as we normally dilute it down by 50% with water anyway. Lately, I’ve also been adding parmesan rinds to my soups – another gift from Paesanella. That’s the tripe looking thing in the bowl of soup above, and a couple of pieces can add a surprising amount of flavour to the soup.
2. Lentils. I always keep four types of lentils in the fridge, including these Australian blues, which are now readily available. I try and use a mix of red or green lentils (which melt into the soup) and blue ones (which keep their shape during cooking). If you can’t get lentils, you can always use tinned beans (well drained), boiled chick peas, or any other sort of legume that takes your fancy.
3. Pasta. This can be any sort, although we prefer smaller pasta to larger shapes. Today, we were all out of soup pasta, so I broke up nests of egg noodles which were hiding in the back of the pantry. You could also break spaghetti into little pieces, or even use filled pasta if you like. We’ve made this soup with all those options and more.
4. Any vegetables or leftover meats you can find. This is the best bit of the soup – it allows you to clear out the fridge and use up leftovers. Our dinner tonight had tomatoes, carrots, a leek (including the green bits), and some old Swiss brown mushrooms, as well as two leftover sausages and a couple of slices of last night’s roast beef. Everything is optional here, so use whatever you have on hand.
The cooking process is simple.
Put the ham bones in a large pot, cover them with water, and bring to a boil. After half an hour or so, de-fat the hot stock. If you don’t have ham bones, you can also achieve a delicious flavour with smoked bacon bones (rib bones) or even a bacon hock. Or just open a one litre carton of stock and pour it into the pot (if you do that, add a litre of water as well).
Next, rinse the lentils and check them for small stones, before adding to the soup with the parmesan rinds and vegetables. Simmer uncovered, until the lentils soften. Add more water if necessary. Taste the stock to see if it needs any seasoning. Sometimes we add flavourings at this point – a little Herbie’s Chermoula Spice mix is our usual addition, but you could add any herbs or spices you prefer. Once the soup tastes good and the lentils are cooked, pull out the bones and salvage any edible bits off them and return these to the pan with any other meat you might have (in our case, the sausage and leftover beef).
Bring the whole thing to a boil, then add the pasta, and cook until the noodles expand and soften. Ladle into bowls and serve with a little grated Parmesan and a grinding of black pepper.
This soup is surprisingly appealing to children, and quite a good way to get lots of vegetables into them. Small Man’s record is six bowls in one sitting!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I love lentils! I like mine with red bell peppers, carrots, onion and spinach polished off with a bit of feta.
I’ll have to try this for the mencats. :-)
Marilyn.
Marilyn, lentils, spinach and feta – sounds like a truly delicious combo! :)
What a great idea! Thrifty *and* tasty. I’ll have to look and see what odds and ends are left from making fried rice last night (another great way to clean the fridge). And I’m glad to see someone else besides me saves hard cheese rinds!
More serendipity, Nancy, I’ve just been writing about fried rice as well. It seems all I’m doing lately is looking for ways to use whatever I can find in the fridge! :D
I love this idea and try to do it but Mr. Babette hates leftovers. *I* love them, though!
this is a great concept. my mom called it ‘the general assembly’, which was very funny when i was 6. i never thought to use the parmesan rinds, but i will from now on!! thanks!
Great idea using reggiano rinds! I’m going to have to same some for next time methinks! :D And bring on the soup weather ;)
Hahaha…this is such a frugal soup – ham bones, parmesan rinds, leftover veggies. I forgot to mention that when we make a pot of this, it almost always feeds a couple of the neighbours as well! And that’s with Small Man eating six bowls of it! :)
Celia, how funny! This is almost exactly the type of soup I make when I don’t know what to have for lunch.
The difference is that I like to use frozen veggies too (usually half a block of frozen spinach + frozen peas + frozen pearl onions). Sometimes I will use small pasta but other times I have used rice.
Beans or chick peas are great in place of lentils.
And I always throw in a bay leaf and a teaspoon or two of Worcestershire sauce to add flavor (do you have that on the other side of the world? ;)
Hi Liza! I once had a friend who told me that she froze all the little bits of extra veg she had leftover when making stews and stir-fries, and then threw them all into the soup when she had enough. It’s a great idea! :)
Yes, we have Worcestershire sauce – although it’s probably not as popular here as in the UK. It’s an essential ingredient in shepherd’s pie here, along with Vegemite! :)
I am so glad that tip was helpful for you! :)
I probably add more Worcestershire into my food than the average person but I think even a tiny bit adds such a boost of flavor! (It’s probably the anchovies in it)
i usually prepare my favorite lentil soup according to my mother’s greek recipe, by using lentils, chopped onion+parsley+carrots+tomato, a pinch of fine salt-cinnamon-brown sugar-coriander, 2tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 2-4 tbsp oil +2-3 dry leaves of laurel that are pulled out before serving. (i omit chopped garlic due to my intolerance to that). however i ‘m looking forward to trying your delicious version asap, thus, tomorrow! thx so much!
may i kindly add my soup version that i usually prepare very quickly! here it is : 1,5 kg (for 2 servings) fresh spinach leaves, chopped by hands, cleaned, boiled for 5-10′, then add chopped carrots+onion+fresh mushrooms, salt, peper, coriander, 1 teasp of seasoning vegetable mix, 2 tbsp oil, bring to boil by adding small qt of water, then add rice for 2 servings( i used arborio last time). this is my version for the greek recipe of spinach-rice soup (spanakorizo). thx! :)
Gina, your Greek version of lentil soup sounds intriguing! I’ve never thought to add balsamic vinegar and cinnamon to the dish! I must try this…
And I love that spinach-rice soup, but have never known how to make it. I will go see what spinach we have left in the garden – I have some kale too, which will probably work as well? Yum! Thank you! :)