Tomato Parmesan Pasta Soup
A chunky tomato and garlic soup with short pasta, finished with grated Parmesan for a deep savory bowl. Hearty enough for one, ready on the stovetop.
- Total
- 33 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sweating · Simmering
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Grate the parmesan. Roughly chop the tomatoes into 2 cm pieces.
~8 min
-
Warm the olive oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
~7 min
Sweating the onion first builds sweetness; adding garlic later prevents it from burning and turning bitter.
Sweating Cook onion over medium heat until soft and translucent without browning; if it starts to color, lower the heat.
-
Add the tomatoes and 400 ml water. Season with the salt and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the tomatoes collapse and the water tastes savory, about 8 minutes.
~8 min
Simmering collapses the tomatoes and concentrates flavor, so the water turns into a savory broth.
If you prefer a smoother soup, mash the tomatoes against the side of the pot with the spoon before the pasta goes in.
Simmering Keep a gentle simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil can break the tomatoes and make the soup dry out.
-
Stir the pasta into the simmering soup. Cook until al dente, about 9 minutes, stirring now and then so it does not stick. If the pot looks dry before the pasta is tender, add 2 tbsp hot water.
~9 min
Stirring prevents the pasta from sticking as its starch thickens the soup into a sauce-like consistency.
Simmering Keep a gentle simmer with small bubbles; a hard boil can break the tomatoes and make the soup dry out.
-
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the grated parmesan until it melts into the soup. Taste and adjust the salt.
~1 min
Off-heat melting keeps Parmesan smooth; high heat can make it clump or turn stringy.
Grate the parmesan finely so it melts smoothly instead of clumping; add it off the heat so the soup stays silky.