Tomato & Rice Soup

This soup may sound a tad odd, but it’s barely any different from a minestrone soup minus the vegetables, and instead of pasta, there’s rice. It’s actually a pretty good soup. J had his wisdom teeth pulled and I had to find a way of feeding him enough fruit and vegetables, the easiest way was with soup.

I recall Nigella Lawson jabbering on about tomato & rice soup on one of her BBC series. I don’t remember the exact details, as she's a very slapdash cook, but the idea seemed pretty neat. Using the following recipe, and feeding 2 people, each serving gives 5 portions of fruit and 400 calories.

The soup is tomato-ey, slightly spicy, fragrantly infused with basil and dotted throughout with soft rice. It’s a real treat as a winter warmer!


TOMATO & RICE SOUP
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
150 g (¾ c) white rice
300 ml (1 ¼ c) water
½ t oil
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 x 800 g (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 ½ t dried oregano
1 T dried basil
2 T paprika
½-1 t chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Place the rice and water in a rice cooker/saucepan and cook until done. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, on medium heat, add the oil and fry the onion and garlic until aromatic, around 3-4 minutes.

3. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and 480 ml (2 c) of just-boiled water. Stir.

4. Add the cooked rice, oregano, basil, paprika, chili flakes and stir. Add more water as necessary to thin out the soup as much as you require. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 8-10 minutes and serve warm with a crusty bread roll.