Macaroni Tomato Soup with Cheese Croutons

Macaroni Tomato soup is on the top of the list of things to eat when one of us in the family has a cold or it is a rainy evening or we simply require some comfort food. The idea is to make a large batch of croutons or maybe some sandwiches and make a meal out of them along with the soup. What bliss! Here is the procedure of Macaroni Tomato Soup with Cheese Croutons.

Recipe: Macaroni Tomato Soup with Cheese Croutons

Ingredients

Tomatoes 3 medium sized

Potato 1 small

Carrot 1 medium

Onions 2 small

Garlic 2 small cloves or 1 large clove

Macaroni ½ cup (any small pasta of preference can be used)

Butter 1tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Whole Wheat Bread 1 slice

Cheese 1 tbsp (plain or any flavour of choice)

Makes: 2 servings

Method

1. Wash and cut the tomatoes and peel, wash and cut the potato, the carrot and one onion into large pieces and pressure cooks them until they are mushy. You can also cook them in a vessel with water.
2. Cool down the vegetables and puree them in a food processor or mixer.
3. Strain vegetable puree.
4. Reheat puree with a cup of water and bring to a boil.
5. In a vessel of water, add the oil and bring to a boil. Cook macaroni in the water.
6. Strain cooked macaroni.
7. Finely chop one onion and the garlic cloves.
8. In a pan, heat the butter and sauté the chopped onion garlic till they are translucent and do not smell raw.
9. Add the macaroni and toss it in the onion and garlic.
10. Add the vegetable puree into the macaroni.
11. Bring the soup to a boil. In case you want to thin the soup at this stage, add water as required and bring to a boil.
12. Season soup with salt and pepper and switch off the gas.
13. Take the slice of bread and spread cheese on it.
14. Pre-heat oven to 200°C and bake bread slice for about 15 minutes.
15. Cut baked slice into 9 equal cubes. Note: Once croutons are ready, you need to use them immediately.
16. Ladle soup into soup bowls, top with croutons and serve piping hot.

You can increase the intake of vegetables in children by adding more vegetables while making the puree. Alternatively, you could finely chop additional vegetables and cook them along with the onions and garlic. This alternative creates a soup that is quite like the minestrone. Let us now see what nutritive value this soup adds to a child’s diet.

Related: Tri coloured Pinwheel sandwiches

Nutrition Table:

No.	Item	Description
1	Vegetables	Packed with vitamins and nutrients that are essential for growth
2	Potatoes	Contains carbohydrates that fuel both brain and body, has vitamin B that helps break down carbohydrates, vitamin C that is essential for skin, bones and hair; they are also naturally free of fat
3	Cheese	Contains calcium that is essential for bone health
4	Whole Wheat Bread	Contains fibre; while not recommended for consumption at every meal, it is great as part of a snack or with other more nutritious food items
5	Butter	Contains fats which are required for assimilation of minerals and water-soluble vitamins; should be consumed in modest quantities