February 5, 2017

Rustic Tomato Soup

Happy February!  I hope the new year is off to a great start for everyone.

I love a good tomato soup - there's something comforting about it.  However, like so many good things, tomato soups are often full of cream, butter, and cheese.  I wanted to come up with a healthier tomato soup that still tasted top notch.

This is a simple soup to make that doesn't require any real complicated ingredients.

After making Thomas Keller's French onion soup over the holiday season, I really have appreciated that roasting vegetables takes a soup from good to great.  Roasted vegetables have so much more flavor, so I roasted carrots, celery, garlic, and onion for this soup.  I didn't roast the tomatoes because my favorite Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes are perfect just as they are!  If you want to roast the tomatoes, go for it!  Just reserve the liquid from the tomato cans for the soup.

After you roast the veggies, you'll add it to a soup pot with tomatoes and your choice of stock.  I also like adding a bay leaf and parmesan cheese rind to the soup.  Parmesan cheese rinds adds a hint of cheese flavor and the right saltiness.  After it cooks, you'll run it through a food mill, blender, etc. to puree it.  I keep it a little chunky.

I've made this soup three times already.  I love having a cup for an afternoon snack--it's something you can feel good about indulging in, too!

Rustic Tomato Soup
Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes
4 cups/32 oz. of chicken, vegetable, or beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 parmesan cheese rind, optional
Red pepper flakes, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.  On a large baking sheet, place the cut carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves.  Drizzle with the 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 45 minutes, turning vegetables halfway.  Once done, remove from oven and set aside.

Once the vegetables are coated, place a large soup pot (at least 6 quarts) over medium high heat.  Add the canned tomatoes (including the juice), the stock, and then the roasted vegetables.  Add in a bay leaf, cheese rind, and any other desired salt, pepper, and/or red pepper flakes.  Cook over medium high heat until the soup begins to boil, and then reduce heat to low.  Cook over low for 20-30 minutes, stirring periodically.

Then, transfer the soup in batches to a blender or a food processor to puree.  Alternatively, you can use a food mill or even an immersion blender if it will not damage your pot.  Serve and enjoy! Garnish with any extra herbs you desire.

A Simply Sweet Justice Original

4 comments:

  1. What a delicious sounding soup! Soups are such a hearty, satisfying way to eat healthy, and feel super full, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love soups all year round and this one looks so tasty and healthy. Going to make it for lunch. Thanks for sharing!
    Jessi

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,
    I'm a school teacher & reading a primary school in Florida. Last few minutes reading your blog post and understand that I have to need a blender to save my time to cook and making juice for my kids. So I think I buy a mixer for blend fruits juice. I was searching post about best vitamix blender but I didn't find in your blog. My request to you please mention me a post about the best and cheap blender. I hope you will do it for me.
    Waiting for your reply.
    Thanks
    Jessica

    ReplyDelete

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