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Rosa Marina Soup combines San Marzano tomatoes, aromatic vegetables, broth, fresh basil, and orzo pasta in a simple, flavorful soup.
What is Rosa Marina Soup?
It’s an Italian soup made small, round pasta similar in shape to grains of rice..
In Italy, that pasta is called risoni – which translates to “big rice.” In other parts of the world, including the United States, you’ll most often find it called orzo – which translates to “barley” in Italian.
There are many variations of Rosa Marina Soup. Our recipe today is a simple tomato orzo soup, but other variations include Italian sausage, chicken, spinach, or other meats and vegetables.
You might also see this soup called Rosamarina, Rosa Maria, or Rosamaria.
Why you’ll love Rosa Marina Soup
- It’s simply delicious – a rich tomato soup with tender cooked orzo, topped with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
- It’s a budget-friendly soup made with pantry ingredients plus a few other fresh ingredients. So you can cook up a pot anytime you’d like!
- It’s an easy soup to prepare and a great way to feed a crowd. Or, enjoy leftovers the next day.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tomatoes – Fresh San Marzano tomatoes are used in Italy, but that variety is hard to find at US-based supermarkets. Instead, we used canned, whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes in our recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Use the best quality Italian olive oil you can find for this recipe.
- Yellow Onion – Or use a sweet onion such as Vidalia. Both yellow and sweet onions have a mild, mellow flavor that’s perfect in this soup recipe.
- Fresh Garlic – Don’t be tempted to use the jarred garlic in this recipe. It will introduce a bitter taste.
- Fresh Basil – Avoid using dried basil. The flavor of fresh basil is the best for this simple recipe.
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
- Dry Orzo Pasta
- Vegetable or Chicken Stock
- Water
- Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese – For the best flavor, buy a wedge of aged Parmesan and grate it yourself. Do not use the jarred Parmesan cheese!
- Tomato Paste
Special Tools Needed
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Bowl
- 5 or 6-Quart heavy-bottomed pot (such as a Dutch oven)
- Spatter Screen
- Wooden Spoon
- Rubber Spatula
How do I make Rosa Marina Soup?
- Pour canned tomatoes into a large bowl. Squeeze each tomato with your hands to break them up.
- Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil then add tomatoes, half of the water, half of the basil, salt, black pepper, and cook for ten minutes.
- Add vegetable stock and remaining water and once bubbling, add dry orzo, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Simmer and stir until orzo is almost tender.
- Add tomato paste, the rest of the basil, and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.
- Taste and season with more salt, if needed.
- Spoon into bowls with lots of additional grated Parmesan cheese and olive oil on top.
Tips & Tricks
- Use the two cups of water to rinse out the tomato cans, then use the tomato water in the recipe where water is called for.
- To chiffonade the fresh basil, stack the leaves, roll the stack into a cylinder and slice from one end to the other. The result will be strands of fresh basil.
- After serving portions of this soup, place the remaining pot of soup in an ice water bath to cool the soup quickly. This will stop the pasta from continuing to absorb the broth as it sits in the hot soup. To create an ice bath, fill your kitchen sink with ice water, then place the hot soup pot right into the ice water being careful not to splash water into the pot. Stir the soup frequently and also move the ice water in the sink around too, adding more ice to the sink if it melts before the soup is cool enough to refrigerate. Using this method, a pot of soup will chill down in about 10-15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Italian Rosa Marina ahead of time? You can but see Cooking Tip above to cool the soup quickly, so the orzo does not absorb too much moisture. Then reheat portions, leaving the remaining soup chilled until ready to heat.
- How do I store leftovers? Store refrigerated for up to four days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Reheat individual portions in a saucepan or in the microwave.
- Can I freeze? No, the pasta will be mushy once thawed.
You might like these other Tomato Soup Recipes:
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Rosa Marina Soup
Rosa Marina Soup combines San Marzano tomatoes, aromatic vegetables, broth, fresh basil, and orzo pasta in a simple, flavorful soup.
Ingredients
2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes (we used Cento brand)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 1/2 cups yellow onion diced, about 1 medium onion
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade and divided (see chef tips)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water, divided and heated (see Cooking Tip in post)
1 quart vegetable stock, heated
8 ounces dry orzo (half of a 1-pound box)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus lots more for serving
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Instructions
- Empty both cans of tomatoes into a bowl and with your hands, squeeze each tomato into pieces. Set this aside.
- In a 4–5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot and simmering, add the onions and cook and stir for four minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for one more minute.
- Add the bowl of tomatoes along with 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, salt, pepper, and one cup of water. Bring the heat up so the tomatoes are bubbling and cover with a splatter screen. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom.
- After ten minutes, add all the stock and the remaining cup of water and again, bring to a medium bubble.
- Add the dry orzo and stir continually until the mixture bubbles again, then turn to medium low and cook until the pasta is almost tender, stirring often so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, remaining tablespoon of basil, and the tomato paste and stir and cook for a few more minutes until the pasta is perfectly cooked.
- Serve immediately with lots of grated Parmesan cheese and drizzles of olive oil over each serving.
- Chill any remaining soup in an ice bath to stop the orzo from cooking any further and absorbing the soup liquid. (See Cooking Tips in post above.)
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Notes
This soup is too thick of if you prefer a thinner soup, add more stock or water.
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