Tomato Pomegranate Soup

I was having a craving for soup AND pasta, so I decided to rummage around my pantry and fridge and see what I could come up with.  The result was pretty good and passed the child taste test, which is a mark of a truly good recipe :)

I liked this soup because of the unique sour taste of the pomegranate molasses and pasta.  Best of all, prep time is only 5 minutes and it comes together very fast! Feel free to substitute another small pasta in place of the penne, in fact I think next time I make it I will use elbow macaroni because the penne was a bit long and I cut them in half in my bowl.

Serves 4

Ingredients
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-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 small white onion, chopped into thin strips
-1 large Italian squash, diced into small cubes
-1 cup small pasta (penne or elbow)
-1 can tomato paste
-6 cups broth (or 1 bouillon cube and water)
-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
-salt to taste
-1/4 cup diced fresh cilantro

To make
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-Heat olive oil on high heat in a pot and saute onions until semi soft, about 3-5 minutes.
-Add the water, pomegranate molasses, salt and tomato paste and stir until blended.
-When the mixture boils, add the pasta and squash. Cover and let soup simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is cooked. If the pasta absorbs too much water, add a little more water and tomato paste.
-Stir in diced cilantro and enjoy :)