Lasagna Soup

I've been in the mood for soup a lot lately. I'd blame the weather but I live in Las Vegas now so that doesn't make sense lol. I've been eyeing this soup for a while now on Pinterest so I decided to finally make it. That and I had just bought a large Le Creuset stockpot specifically for soups so I could actually make a larger batch of soup and not worry about it not being able to fit in one of my pots. I was house sitting for my aunt the weekend I decided to make the soup, so I lugged everything over to her place to make it there and then ate it throughout the weekend. The recipe calls for ricotta, which I left out because my body cannot digest ricotta with good results. This was a simple recipe to make-there are a lot of ingredients, but don't let that fool you! I'd definitely make this again and try freezing half of it. I think I like this better than actual lasagna! I really like how you add the cheese as a topping so you can however much or less of it that you want. I didn't add the fennel seeds because I forgot to bring them and I couldn't find them at my aunt's. I sent a picture of this to my mom and she said it didn't look like soup since there wasn't much broth...I may have simmered it a little too long lol but it still had really good flavor. I wasn't paying attention when I bought the lasagna noodles. I bought precooked noodles so I had to guess how long to cook them in the boiling water-they seemed to turn out okay but I think that's why I simmered the soup a little longer than I was supposed to, to make sure the noodles were cooked enough.

Lasagna Soup (Pinterest) (5 servings):

2 tbsp EVOO, divided
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
3-5 garlic cloves, to taste, minced (I of course added the 5, if not 6 cloves)
4 c chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite-size pieces
1 1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c finely shredded parmesan cheese
8 oz ricotta cheese

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large pot over med-high heat. Once hot, crumble beef into pot, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Drain off fat from beef and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in pot, add chopped onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds, thyme, sugar, parsley, the cooked ground beef and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to boil, then reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare lasagna noodles according to pkg directions, reserving 1 c pasta water before draining pasta. Add cooked pasta to soup along with 1/2 to 1 cup pasta water as desired. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, stir together mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta.

Ladle soup into bowls, dollop with a large scoop of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Enjoy!




Broken up lasagna noodles...






Noodles are softened and ready to eat...






Topped with cheese...Enjoy!...