One Pot Lasagne Soup

Happy Friday guys and welcome to autumn on The Mother Cooker, the start of comfort food season. I absolutely live for comfort food and I have been working on some super indulgent and tasty recipes to get you through the colder days. I know we aren't quite in a cold front just yet, so I will continue to balance indulgence with lighter meals for a while longer.

Lasagne has to be one of my favourite things to eat, my mother-in-law makes THE best lasagne and I am always so happy when she's cooked it us for dinner. I however am yet to master this layered wonder. So I decided to create a soup version instead, a gently spiced, warming, tomato sauce with Italian meatballs and giant fusili pasta. I hope you enjoy it as much we do in our home. You only need one pot, an hour and you are ready to go.

Serves: 6Prep time: 10 minsCook time: 45 mins*If wanting to take to work, keep your cheese in a separate small pot, warm soup through then add at the end.

Ingredients

• 15 Italian meatballs
• 900ml chicken stock
• 2 450g tins of Italian plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree
• 2 small white onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 200g of giant fusilli pasta
• Sprinkle of black pepper
• Bunch of fresh basil
• Ricotta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Grab a large pan.
2. Finely chop your onion and garlic, add to the pan with 2 tsp olive oil and 2 bay leaves. Gently sweat over a medium heat until soft, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. Around 5 mins.
3. Quarter your meatballs ready.
4. Once onion has softened, add tomato puree, cayenne, oregano and cook out, mixing well for 1 minute.
5. Add your meatballs and cook until meat is sealed, about 5-6 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
6. Add your tinned tomatoes, then your stock, mix together then cook on a gentle simmer for 15 mins.
7. Add your pasta and cook until pasta is just soft, about 10-12 mins. Season with black pepper.
8. Decant in to bowls, add a dollop of ricotta in the middle, top with a good sprinkle of parmesan and chopped fresh basil.