Whenever I get the “I’ve had a long day” text, I make my lasagna soup — because there’s no better way to say I love you on a weeknight. Ground beef get’s browned and well-seasoned, before building a delicious tomato-broth using onions, garlic, Calabrian peppers, balsamic vinegar and crushed tomatoes. What really takes this soup up a notch is the addition of two things: cured pork and parmesan rind. The pork adds a richness that’s missing from a quick soup like this, made with lean beef. While the parmesan adds a subtle umami that would otherwise be missed. Finally, I don’t use lasagna noodles like most other soup recipes in this category. Instead I opt for a medium-sized pasta shape called, Mafalda Corta — it looks like mini lasagna sheets which is great, but more importantly fits perfectly in the bed of a spoon, making for a better slurp and less-messy bite.
Equipment
Here’s everything you need to make lasagna soup at home:
- Large pot
- chef’s knife
- cutting board
- zester or fine grater (like a Microplane)
Get the full ingredients list and instructions below!
Cooking Tips:
- I love how accessible ground beef is, but I don’t love how most grocery stores only cary lean or extra lean — there’s just not a ton of flavour in it. I decided to use lean ground in the recipe, but add cured pork and parmesan to simmer in the tomato broth as a little workaround to add richness that would otherwise be missed. I thought you’d be more likely to already have these two things in your fridge, and (hopefully) avoid adding extra effort, cost or time to the recipe. You can skip them, but the soup won’t be as rich, and might need a bit of extra salt to make the existing flavours pop. Adjust accordingly!
- I’ve decided I don’t love lasagna sheets in lasagna soup. I’m sorry to all the purists out there! I actually prefer a medium-sized noodle because it fits neatly into the bed of a spoon and is easily slurpe-able, if you know what I mean? I found Mafalda Corta, which look like mini lasagna sheets, so that’s what I used (and call for!) below. But feel free to swap for another medium pasta noodle like, rigatoni, orecchiette or fusilli.
Ingredients
Method
- Lightly coat the bottom of a Dutch oven, or thick-bottomed pot, in olive oil and heat on medium-high. Break the ground beef into large chunks and transfer to the hot oil. Season generously with 2 tsp salt and sear until golden brown on 1 side, then break the meat up into smaller pieces and continue cooking until 2/3 of the meat is deeply golden grown, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Dice 1 yellow onion and 4 garlic cloves. Turn the heat to medium, add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp Calabrian peppers and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and let cook until jammy, scraping the fond at the bottom of the pan as you go, about 2 minutes. Add beef back in and stir to evenly incorporate.
- Add 3 cups passata, followed by 6 cups water, 40g cured pork, 1 parmesan rind, a generous pinch of salt and lots of cracked black pepper. Bring to a rapid simmer, add 250g pasta and cook until al dente, about 12-15 minutes. It will take a little longer than the package instructions, but taste as you cook to avoid over cooking.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix 1 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/6 tsp nutmeg, a pinch of salt and lots of cracked black pepper until well-incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and stir in 1/4 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning until it's tasting so delicious you could scream! Serve hot with the ricotta-parmesan mixture and fresh basil leaves.