Recipes

[depglass]

I once had this at a restaurant and asked for the recipe. It was a little diner type restaurant, and she said she just took left-over lasagna from the previous day's special and mixed it into tomato soup. It was wonderful, but we never have any left-over lasagna.

[Sabatini2]

On 10/22/2014 RespectLife said:

LOL soupy lasagna...I've served a few of those by accident! I like my ricotta filling really firm....but can't seem to get that right anymore!

Sabatini...that pasta is so cute! I have never even heard of mafalda pasta! I am going to have to search those noodles down! Only have 1 'Italian' market left near me....maybe they have them and I just didn't notice.

Hi RL! I bought the pasta and it IS adorable! There were 2 brands at my store: Dececco & Pastene, but it was called "mafaldine". I served it w/ a marinara, tiny meatballs & lots of grated cheese. Delish.

But back to this lasagna 'soup', which is probably better in theory, than in reality. Looking at the recipes, it's basically just ground meat & sautéed onions in a tomato-ey broth w/ noodles, and adding a few spoonfuls of Ricotta to it, would make it look exactly like the dreaded 'soupy lasagna'.

IMO, the only way it'd be workable is w/ a crostini on top (as in French Onion soup), then the cheese, then run under a broiler, but I think I'll pass. You'd be better off making lasagna!

Different strokes!

[GloriBee]

On 10/18/2014 FunkyHulaGirl said:

Lasagna Soup

(Makes 4 servings)


Ingredients

Kosher salt

8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (about 10 noodles)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 onion, chopped

1/2 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
(you can also substitute ground beef if you prefer)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 15 -ounce can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, plus thinly sliced leaves for topping

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for sprinkling, optional)

1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Ricotta cheese, for topping
*

Directions


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook as the label directs. Drain; drizzle with olive oil and toss.



Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the sausage, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring and breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until darkened, about 2 minutes.



Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and 1 cup water; cover and bring to a simmer. Uncover and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in the noodles, basil, parmesan and heavy cream; simmer 2 more minutes.



Divide the soup among bowls. Top with ricotta and sliced basil.




* I'd rather put the ricotta in the bottom of the bowl before I put the soup in, then sprinkle some mozzarella on top.

Thanks for the recipe. I saw it somewhere a couple of years ago, but I am not sure where the recipe is now.

[GloriBee]

On 10/18/2014 Sabatini2 said:

On 10/18/2014 ValuSkr said:

I've had soupy lasagna, but that wasn't by design. Lasagna soup doesn't sound interesting or even very good. I presume it uses some other kind of pasta.

I didn't think it sounded very good either, but looked up a few recipes and found this popular one on "a farmgirl's dabbles". Now I wanna run out and buy that cute mafalda pasta! BTW, the 'cheesy yum' sounds a little corny, ... or cheesy.

Here's her recipe, w/ a link that follows, in case you're interested:

Lasagna Soup

yield: 8 SERVINGS

ingredients:

for the soup:

2 tsp. olive oil

1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage

3 c. chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 T. tomato paste

1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

6 c. chicken stock

8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta

1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:

8 oz. ricotta

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. salt

pinch of freshly ground pepper

additional cheesy yum:

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Lasagna Soup • a farmgirl's dabblesa farmgirl's dabbles

Thanks! Yummy! I love the mafalda pasta!

[RespectLife]

Sabatini and ladies...I made your post #5 and it was delicious!! The soup part is pretty much like any Italian sausage soup...but the Cheesy Yum (ricotta & mozz) was an unexpected fantastic bite w/ every spoonful! It didn't melt when the hot soup was put on top. It stayed a nice dollop in the bottom...so you could just grab a bit w/ your spoon.

As long as you don't 'stir it all up'...it did not make the soup 'lasagna soupy'. Try it! It was really good. I served it w/ a crusty bread.

I found Anna Brand Mafaldine Pasta easily in the Italian market. It made the soup so cute with the curly sided pasta. I did break it up b4 cooking to make it easier to eat. A very hearty soup...filling! YUMMY! DH took 2 spoonfuls and said this is a KEEPER!

I cooked the pasta separately and added it per bowl. But then I put the extra pasta in the soup....Leftovers will need more liquid added as the noodles did absorb up a lot of broth in the fridge even tho they were cooked separately.

Thanks so much...I had fun w/ this recipe.

[Sabatini2]

On 10/28/2014 RespectLife said:

Sabatini and ladies...I made your post #5 and it was delicious!! The soup part is pretty much like any Italian sausage soup...but the Cheesy Yum (ricotta & mozz) was an unexpected fantastic bite w/ every spoonful! It didn't melt when the hot soup was put on top. It stayed a nice dollop in the bottom...so you could just grab a bit w/ your spoon.

As long as you don't 'stir it all up'...it did not make the soup 'lasagna soupy'. Try it! It was really good. I served it w/ a crusty bread.

I found Anna Brand Mafaldine Pasta easily in the Italian market. It made the soup so cute with the curly sided pasta. I did break it up b4 cooking to make it easier to eat. A very hearty soup...filling! YUMMY! DH took 2 spoonfuls and said this is a KEEPER!

I cooked the pasta separately and added it per bowl. But then I put the extra pasta in the soup....Leftovers will need more liquid added as the noodles did absorb up a lot of broth in the fridge even tho they were cooked separately.

Thanks so much...I had fun w/ this recipe.

I'm SO glad you liked it, RL! Thanks for posting back. I always keep the noodles for soups separate too, until after a few days when I finally say the heck w/ it, and dump them into whatever is left.

I think I'm in love with that curly mafalda/mafaldine pasta!

[forrestwolf]

I have been told that for our Thanksgiving pot luck, that I must make my lasagna that I make in the pressure cooker, and although not a soup by any means, it does come out more moist that the traditional cut out from a pan lasagna, but it is still somewhat firm, and can be cut and dished out........ One issue for moist part is that I use a ton of cheese, but the cheeses that I use can always be lower fat, as the meat can be turkey or chicken, and I love that you do not have to cook the noodles......that can be whole wheat to be healthier.....