Macaroni Soup

Ingredients

• 3 oz macaroni
• 1 walnut-sized piece butter
• to taste salt
• 2 quarts clear stock

Method

Bring 2 quarts of stock to a rolling simmer in a heavy-bottomed pot. The liquid should barely break at the surface — this is where you'll build the final texture of the soup, so temperature discipline matters now.

In a separate pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni until it's three-quarters tender, around 20 minutes. The pasta will finish cooking in the stock, so stop before it's completely yielding to the bite — it should still have resistance at the centre when you drain it. This two-stage cooking prevents the pasta from breaking down into mush and clouding the broth. Add the butter to the drained macaroni while it's still hot; it will coat the tubes and create a slight barrier against the stock.

Tip the maccaroni directly into the simmering stock. The heat will drop; maintain a gentle, consistent simmer for 12–15 minutes. You're not trying to fully soften the pasta now — you're infusing it with the flavour and body of the stock whilst the starch leaches into the liquid and builds a light, natural thickening. Watch for the moment the soup loses its absolute clarity and takes on a faint opacity; that's the starch working. Taste at 12 minutes. The pasta should have just given way, and the stock should taste of itself, enriched but not overwhelmed.

Season with salt if needed — remember your stock and pasta water already carry salt, so approach this cautiously. If you've used a robust dairy-based stock (unusual but possible with cream), the soup will naturally thicken further.

Ladle into wide bowls whilst the soup is still hot. Finish with grated Parmesan — not a garnish, but a critical component that adds umami depth and a slight nuttiness that cuts through the richness of the butter. Serve without delay; the soup will stiffen as it cools, becoming gluey rather than velvety.