Don’t you just love making soup when it’s cold outside? Try this prawn soup with orzo next time you want to make a hot delicious soup to warm the soul after you come home freezing cold. I expected some serious cold in November here in the Netherlands but mother nature clearly had other plans. November was a nice and warm month with no cold, no snow and even more important: no ice.
I live in the Netherlands and us Dutch people are known for our love of ice skating. I actually know a lot of people who get really excited when the temperature drops below zero for more than a day. The mere prospect of maybe skating on natural ice can get the whole nation into a frenzy. There are a lot of Dutch people that are genuinely awesome at ice skating and we have a lot of ice skate champions here.
Having said that………………does anyone remember the famous scene in Bambi when he got onto the ice for the very first time? His legs all spread out under him and he can’t get up no matter how hard he tries? That’s more or less how I feel on the ice. To be honest it’s not that bad, but next to others on the ice here I feel like Bambi. That’s why I decided to get some ice skating lessons this year. I convinced my 8-year-old son to join me in the lessons and we both bought ice skates. We had our first lesson in November while it was still 15 degrees (Celsius) outside. That did not stop me from making a big pan of this prawn soup with orzo when we got home though. The prawns are my favourite part of this soup. Don’t you just love prawn?
I remember never eating prawn growing up because of my mum’s dislike of seafood and fish in general. I still don’t understand how one cannot like all fish and all seafood. There are so many different fish and seafood that taste so different that I can’t understand how you can exclude such a big food group from your diet. Surely there must have been certain types of fish or seafood that my mum would have liked. Unfortunately, she was not prepared to try it. That’s why I did not eat a lot of prawns when I was young, but I certainly made up for that as an adult.
I’m a sucker for prawns and have them whenever I can. That’s why I love this prawn soup with orzo. An added bonus is that the kids call this “the best soup ever”. Also, this prawn soup with orzo is easy to make and the ingredients can be found in almost every supermarket. So there is no need for a trip to any speciality stores.
I tried this hearty comfort food soup with both fresh and frozen prawn and both worked just fine. Serve it with a crusty baguette and some garlic butter to coat the bread with. One last thing! Be sure to divide the prawn equally over the bowls, because they are the best part. Taking more prawn than you’re entitled to would be shellfish……………
I hope you enjoy this prawn soup recipe as much as we did. If you try it, please let me know! Leave a comment, telling me what you think of it. You can also tag your photo on Instagram with @culyzaar or post it on my Facebook page so I can see it. I love seeing your takes on the recipes on my blog!
- 500 gr peeled prawns (frozen or fresh)
- 3 small red onions
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
- 3 bell peppers (preferably red or yellow)
- 3 large tomatoes, diced
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano
- 1 litre of vegetable stock
- 200 gr orzo pasta
- 10 gr chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- chili flakes, to serve
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In a large pan sauté the onion on medium heat in oil until they start to colour. I used a Dutch oven with a heat diffuser underneath. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute longer. Don’t let the garlic get too dark or it will become bitter. Then add the tomatoes, the bell pepper and cook and stir for 8 minutes.
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After 8 minutes you add the tomato paste. Fry this until it starts to caramelize. The caramelization is the secret to the umami taste you are looking for. If you don’t do this you will get sort of a sour raw tomato flavour. Fry it until it goes dark and starts to stick a little to the pan, but don’t let it burn.
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Then use the stock to deglaze the pan while you make sure you scrape up all the bits that got stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the frozen prawn and bring it all to a boil (if you are using fresh prawn then add them about two minutes before the orzo is cooked). Then add the orzo pasta, cover and simmer for 8 minutes or until the orzo is cooked. Check the instruction on the package of the orzo you’re using as this may vary.
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When the orzo is cooked take the soup off the heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. My kids prefer it without the lemon juice so I serve it on the side for us adults. Serve the soup immediately and sprinkle it with chilli flakes over it. Serve it with a crusty baguette and some garlic butter.
That looks wonderful! It’s not that cold here in the UK at the moment, but I’m going to make it tomorrow and often we’ve been skating!
Thank you Colette 🙂
Hope you like it as much as we did.