On a cold November day when my friend’s son requested soup for lunch, I knew right away I wanted to make something a 3-year-old would enjoy as much as I would: creamy, healthy tomato soup with just a spoonful of playful alphabet letters, a throwback to childhood classics. Everyone enjoyed the tomato soup that day, including my 1-year-old daughter, the 3-year-old Jonah, and me.
Make sure not to add the alphabet pasta until you serve, otherwise the pasta will absorb too much of the soup and it will have a mushy, non-soup-like consistency.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 ½-2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Salt and pepper
½ cup alphabet or other small pasta
Fresh chives
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Directions
1. Add butter or oil to a medium pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
2. Add crushed tomatoes and stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat after 10 minutes to low.
3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta around 6 minutes or according to directions. Drain pasta and drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking. Set aside until ready to serve.
4. If you want the soup to be a smoother consistency, you can puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor. If not, you can leave soup as is.
5. If making the soup dairy, add heavy cream before serving.
6. Add a heaping tablespoon of pasta to each bowl. Sprinkle chopped chives on top and serve.
