This is one of those super quick, unbelievably easy recipes that uses mostly store cupboard ingredients.
My Italian friend gave me this recipe about 20 years ago. It’s a recipe that Italian mamas give their children and they grow up eating it as comfort food and oh my goodness, it is comforting. It’s savoury, more-ish and seriously nutritious. It’s my fail safe meal for when I’m properly hungry and need to eat now.
My little boys love it. I think it must the flavour that they crave; the stock, fresh tomatoes, tomato puree and Parmesan are full of naturally occurring glutamate – the umami flavour that makes us want to eat more and more savoury food.
Miraculous ingredients: Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients chicken stock, tomato puree, Santini baby plum tomatoes (M&S sells this variety), Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan)
Chicken, pasta and tomato soup
Ingredients
750ml chicken stock (I use Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients chicken stock diluted with 150ml of water)
1 tablespoons concentrated tomato puree
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
10g unsalted butter
50g Santini baby plum tomatoes, chopped into tiny pieces
1 egg (Burford Brown)
20g fresh parsley, finely chopped
Grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
Add all the chicken stock to a pan, turn the heat to high and as the chicken stock comes to a boil add the tomato puree, olive oil, butter and the chopped baby plum tomatoes.
When the stock starts to boil add the pasta and leave to simmer while the pasta cooks through, about 8 minutes. In a separate bowl, crack the egg and whisk to thoroughly mix the yolk and white.
Turn the heat off and stir in the finely chopped parsley. Finally, pour in the mixed egg and slowly stir through the soup with a fork. The egg will cook the instant it hits the hot soup and by moving a fork through the soup the egg will turn into delicate fragile strands.
Serve with lots of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Preparation time 5 minutes, cooking 10 minutes, serves 4