The Tomato Soup that No One Can Resist

Alya often complains that I don't make her favorite food, which is not true. She is accusing me of neglecting her numerous requests of pizza and tomato soup! "You always make what baba loves!" Needless to say, it is not true. My husband loves everything I make, he even surrendered to my wish to eat more vegetarian dishes. In a nutshell, Alya wants me to make Pizza and tomato soup everyday! I decided last week to make tomato soup and actually make a point that I made it juuuuust for you Alya!

Tomato Soup is actually easy to make. My recipe calls for a little bit of extra work but trust me, it adds a lot of depth and flavor. Roasting half of the tomatoes, as I do in my tomato sauce recipe, elevates the soup!

I also have a great news for you! If you have any leftover, you can magically transform it to pink sauce over pasta with capers and shrimp! It is the gift that keeps on giving!

I usually make tomato soup in winter time when it is not tomato season. I try to eat local and seasonal and that means practically no fresh tomatoes! I normally use canned organic tomatoes which are a wonderful substitute because they are picked at their peak! (try to say picked at peak there times in a row)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

2 cans of organic diced tomatoes (15.5 oz)

1 can of organic San Marzano tomato (30 oz)

8 cloves of garlic

2-3 stalks of celery

1 medium to large yellow onion

1/4 teaspoon oregano (fresh or dry)

1/4 teaspoon thyme (fresh or dry)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

Method:

• Follow my recipe of tomato sauce, but just don't blend yet click here for the recipe 
• Chop onion, celery and garlic. They need not to be finely chopped because they will blended later.
• In a big pot (I like to use a dutch oven) over a medium heat add the two tablespoons of olive oil
• Add the chopped onions and celery and let cook until brown.
• Add  2 cloves of garlic and stir until fragrant.
• Add the can of San Marzano tomato and crush it with a wooden spoon
• Let the mixture cook until all ingredients are combined and are best friends
• Add the roasted tomatoes (as per my tomato sauce recipe), and add any reserved liquid, salt and pepper and let all the ingredients cook together.
• Once the mixture is boiling, cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Get your immersion blender and blend the soup until creamy and smooth. If you don't own an immersion blender, you can use your regular blender or a food processor but be extra careful! you can seriously burn yourself!
• Let the smooth soup simmer again covered over low heat for about 10 minutes,
• Add the heavy cream and stir until blended.
• Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

I like to serve my tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich or homemade croutons with extra dash of back pepper. 

For the homemade crouton, just follow my Pita Chips Recipe and substitute the pita bread with stale baguette cut to cubes. Click here for the Recipe of Pita Chips.

Enjoy!

Nadine

Tomato Sauce Recipe: Click here

Pita Chips Recipe: Click here