Beef Spaghetti Tomato Soup

Name: Beef Spaghetti Tomato Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

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roubashahin.com.au

Mains

The spaghetti soup Grandma used to make — thick pasta, spiced tomato broth and pure comfort in a bowl.

PREP TIME

5 minutes

COOK TIME

30 minutes

SERVES

6-8

About this recipe

This beef spaghetti tomato soup is one of those recipes that belongs to a generation of Lebanese grandmothers — taytas who cooked quietly and instinctively, without anything written down. My grandma made it, my mum made it, and now I make it too. If yours did as well, I already know you’re smiling right now.

What’s more, you almost never see this dish anymore. It didn’t make it onto restaurant menus or into cookbooks — it lived in home kitchens and was passed on by watching, tasting and remembering. There’s also something quietly fascinating about the fact that pasta isn’t a prominent part of Lebanese cuisine, and yet here our grandmothers were, folding thick spaghetti into spiced tomato broth like it was the most natural thing in the world. That’s the beauty of heritage cooking — it doesn’t always follow the rules, and it’s all the better for it.

What sets this beef spaghetti tomato soup apart from anything you’d find in a Western kitchen is the spice. The bharat — our Lebanese seven spice — gives the broth a warmth and depth that you simply can’t replicate with Italian seasoning or dried herbs. Combined with cumin, tomato paste and passata, the result is a deep, rich, almost terracotta-coloured broth that is pure comfort in a bowl. As a result, it pairs beautifully with something equally simple on the side — my Cheesy Garlic Bread Loaf is not a traditional pairing by any stretch, but that’s exactly where I come in, bringing flavours together in a way that just works. If you love the idea of a spiced tomato base, my Tomato Noodle Soup is another one to add to your list — lighter and quicker, but cut from the same cloth.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg beef mince
1 teaspoon bharat (Lebanese seven spice)
1 teaspoon cumin
300 ml (1 1⁄4 cups) passata
300 grams (1 heaped cup) tomato paste
12 cups water (3 litres)
Salt to season
250 grams bucatini, broken into 3's or 4's

Notes from Rouba

The spaghetti must be thick and round — look for spaghettoni at your local supermarket or grocer. Thin spaghetti won’t give you the same result.
This soup thickens as it sits, especially the next day. Just add a splash of water when reheating and stir through.
Bharat is Lebanese seven spice — I have a recipe you can download here or you’ll find it at any Middle Eastern grocery store. It’s worth keeping a jar in your pantry at all times.
Don’t rush the browning on the beef — getting good colour on the mince before adding your liquids adds depth to the broth.
This is a soupy dish by design. If it looks too thin while cooking, resist the urge to reduce it down — it will thicken on its own as the pasta cooks and absorbs the broth.

Method

Step 1. Brown the Beef

Heat the olive oil in a large deep pot over medium heat and add the beef mince. Cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into coarse chunks, until it is well browned all over. Season with salt. Add the bharat and cumin and stir through the beef so the spices are fully combined and fragrant.

Step 2. Build the Broth

Pour in the passata, tomato paste and water. Stir everything together, taste and season with salt, then bring the pot to a boil over high heat.

Step 3. Simmer the Soup

Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to develop and the broth to deepen in colour and taste.

Step 4. Add the Bucatini

Add the broken bucatini to the pot and stir through. Continue to simmer on low until the pasta is tender and has absorbed some of the broth (approximately 15-minutes) — the soup should remain loose and brothy throughout. Add a little extra hot water if it thickens too much before the pasta is cooked through.

A FEW THINGS YOU’LL WANT TO KNOW

What type of spaghetti should I use?
Bucatini is what I use and recommend for this soup — it is thicker than regular spaghetti and has a hollow centre, which means it holds up beautifully in the broth without going soft and delivers that satisfying bite in every spoonful. That thickness is really what this soup is all about. If you can't find bucatini, spaghettoni is a great alternative — it is also a thick, round spaghetti that works well here. Either way, avoid thin spaghetti — it will overcook and break down too quickly in the broth.

Is this dish meant to be soupy?
Yes, completely. This is a soup with pasta in it — not a pasta dish with sauce. The broth is meant to be loose and plentiful, so don't be tempted to cook it down. It thickens naturally as the pasta absorbs liquid and even more so once it cools.

Can I make this ahead of time?
You can, and honestly it tastes even better the next day once the flavours have had time to settle. Just store it in the fridge and add a generous splash of water when reheating on the stove, as the pasta will have absorbed most of the broth overnight.

What is bharat?
Bharat is a Lebanese spice blend — sometimes called seven spice — made up of warm spices. It is the spice that gives this soup its distinctly Lebanese character. These days you can find it in most local supermarkets amongst the spice aisle — it may be labelled as bharat, seven spice, five spice or Lebanese spice depending on the brand. And if you'd like to make your own, I have a bharat blend recipe card available as a free download here— it's worth having a homemade jar on hand at all times.

Can I use a different mince?
Beef is the traditional choice here and gives the best flavour in the broth, but lamb mince also works beautifully if that is what you have on hand.

Do I have to use passata?
Not at all — in fact, our grandmothers made this with tomato paste alone, and it was just as delicious. The passata is something my mum introduced along the way, and I've kept it in because it adds a lighter, more liquid tomato base to the broth. If you only have tomato paste on hand, go ahead and use it — just as tayta did.

How should I break up the bucatini?
There is something really beautiful about long strands of spaghetti in this soup — and if you want that visual, break it into 3's. Practically speaking though, breaking it into 4’s makes it a lot easier to eat, especially when you are scooping it up with a spoon from a deep bowl. Either way works — it comes down to whether you are cooking for the ’gram or for the table.

How much salt does this soup need?
More than you might expect — and that is not a bad thing. Once your broth is built and simmering, taste it before you add the pasta and season. The pasta will absorb a lot of the flavour as it cooks, so you want the broth to taste well seasoned before it goes in. Taste again at the end and adjust.

Can I add less beef?
Absolutely — and honestly, when I was making this recipe I was in two minds between 750 grams and a full kilogram. You really cannot go wrong either way. Interestingly, our grandparents would have used much less beef simply because meat wasn’t as accessible then as it is now. So whether you scale it up or down, the soup works.

Should I break up the beef finely when browning it?
Keep it chunky. This is a rustic, hearty soup and the coarse pieces of beef are part of what makes it so satisfying. Some people shape the mince into small meatballs, which also works, but I find the easier and more practical approach is simply to break it up with a wooden spoon as it browns and leave it in generous pieces. It is less fuss and gives you something really hearty to eat with every spoonful.