Tomato Soup

I don’t really know why I never made tomato soup before. I love tomatoes, and it’s really just summery goodness in a liquid form, what’s not to love? So I tried to make it the other night, turned out, it is blog worthy. So here it is.

Ingredients:

About 4 large or 6 small plump ripe juicy tomatoes, any kind would do really, but apparently the juicier, the more tomatoy, the better. Or you can use a couple large cans of good peeled whole tomatoes.

1/2 of a loaf of good crusty bread, roughly cubed to about 1 inch cubes. White bread or even left over bread would be fine too. I personally prefer plain bread in this case, something that has milder flavor.

Chicken stock, about 2 cups, or 2 cups of vegetable stock, or water and bullion, or even plain water, no biggie.

A few basil leaves, for flavor and garnish. Of course, I had to have some fresh basil in my garden, so that’s easy for me.

1 whole onion roughly chopped, again, any kind would do. But I’d prefer yellow, white or sweet, purple onion may turn the soup a bit darker in color? If you tried it, please leave a comment and let me know!

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped.

1+1 tbsp olive / avocado / vegetable oil, something mild flavor would do

Salt and pepper to taste, and you will need a blender, either a stick blender (which I love and less mess to clean up), or a good counter top blender

Any kind of cheese for garnish, if you prefer. Hint: mozzarella, tomato and basil is ultimate combo

Method:

In a large soup pot (larger ones are easier to stir vegetables around, and when blending, less soup splatters outside the pot), drizzle in 1 table spoon oil, heat on medium high. Sweat onions for about 3 minutes or until onions are soften and translucent. During this time, rough chop tomatoes and smash and rough chop garlic, move the onions around every now and then to ensure they don’t burn. Add in garlic and stir around veggies for about 30 seconds. Add in tomatoes, juices and all. If you are using canned tomatoes, use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes a bit. I know a lot of major chefs like to squeeze tomatoes through fingers in a separate bowl and dump into the pot, I am not a huge fan of doing that, simply because I can’t seem to ever be able to maintain the cleanliness of the counter or my clothes.

Stir all veggies together, add in the stock. I don’t really fuss about buying boxed stock, or making my own. I am sure it tastes wonderful, but I only do that for special occasion. I like to use water and bullion. Nowadays you can use powder form, cubes, or even refrigerated paste type. They are a lot easier to handle and store. I like to throw in about half of my basil leaves at this point. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, lid on and let it go for about 35, 40 minutes. Cube your bread and set it aside. Hint, good time to start cleaning up the mess on the counter, or pour yourself a drink and enjoy the amazing smell of the house.

Check your soup, stir it around from time to time, make sure nothing burns at the bottom. Add in bread cubes, and use the spoon to push the bread down and soak up all the goodness. Lid on again and let it go for another 5 minutes or until the bread cubes are all softened. Notice, I still have not put in any salt or pepper. Depends on what kind of tomato you use, you may not even need ANY salt at the end, amazing, right?

Break out your stick blender, or counter top blender. Blend the soup to desired consistency. Now is the time to try a little soup and adjust seasoning, if needed. Be careful not to burn your lips, it’s HOT! Dish up, stick some pretty basil leaves and sprinkle the cheese on top. You will be glad you made this super simple, healthy and delicious soup!