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Let’s Hear It For The Bowl

Tomato soup. In America, it almost always goes hand in hand with grilled cheese. Let’s be honest, sometimes the tomato soup basically serves as grilled cheese dip. While I love this classic combo and general idea of tomato soup, I rarely come good tomato soup. It’s often super sweet or pasta sauce-y or very creamy and rich like a bisque.

Over the years, I’ve made many versions of tomato soups to varying degrees of success; some from recipes and others ad-hoc. This fall, I came of what might be my best recipe yet. It’s bright but not too tart and interesting enough to eat on it’s own. Time for the soup to shine! That said, it’s pretty perfect paired with a grilled cheese, which for me is always with sourdough and never American cheese. Controversial, I know.

Why It Works

What makes this soup unique is that it’s creamy without bread or dairy and also quite full of flavor. It’s also vegan and low in fat it’s really a soup for all the people. I did use my current favorite flavor boosters in this one; nutritional yeast (see this post for more info), Sherry vinegar and Calabrian chili paste. Together, they add some richness and fullness to the tomato and vegetable base. I recently made a double batch of tomato soup for 2 sets of friends with newborns. My one friend, Cathy (shh) is a wimp when it comes to spice so I left out the chili paste. I can report that it was still very good without so don’t let that keep you from giving this a go if you don’t have any.

A Simple and Safe Blender Option

If you don’t have an immersion blender or fancy Vitamix-esque blender, no worries. I’ve included an option for pureeing the soup in a standard blender to prevent tomato soup fireworks. I had a broccoli soup incident where hot soup went flying many years back, so I’ve very wary of putting hot liquids in a blending.

How to Top It

Feel free to drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle on chives or grate some fresh cheese into the soup if you’re so inclined. It’d be great with garlicky croutons for sure. I recently topped a bowl with a bit of shichimi togarashi and loved the combination of sesame, red pepper, ginger and orange with the soup. Who knew?!

Tomato Soup For All

• Servings: 6
• Time: 40 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

This rich and savory soup is a easy to make, fits with many diets and freezes well for future meals.

Credit: LetsGoSho

Ingredients

I’ve included instructions for making this in a regular (non-Vitamix) blender if you don’t have an immersion/stick blender

You can double this recipe. Just ad a few minutes to the veggie cooking time.

As written, a serving is 1 point on WW Freestyle Blue.

Equipment

• big pot
• chef’s knife or similar
• cutting board
• stirring spoon
• immersion blender or regular blender
• measuring spoons

– 1 Tbsp olive oil
– 28 oz can of unsalted crushed tomatoes (I use Trader Joe’s Plum Tomatoes)
– 1 Tbsp table salt (can also start with less and add more)
– 1 or 2 carrots, depending on size (1/2 cup chopped)
– 1 stalk of celery (1/2 cup chopped)
– 1/2 large yellow onion (1/2 cup chopped)
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
– 1 1/2 tsp sugar (if you want to omit this, double the tomato paste)
– 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock (halve the salt for regular stock)
– 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
– 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
– 1/4 tsp dried thyme
– 1/4 tsp dried oregano
– 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or 1 tsp Calabrian chili paste (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the carrot(s) and 1/2 onion. Chop the onion, carrot and celery into approximately 1/2 inch pieces. You want them to be similar in size and not too big so they cook quickly. Heat the pot over medium heat and add the olive. Add the chopped vegetables to the pan once it’s heated up and stir to coat them with olive oil.
2. Peel and finely chop the 2 garlic cloves. Once the onions have started to soften and turned from opaque white to translucent (about 6-8 minutes) add the garlic and stir to mix it with the other vegetables. Cook for another 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and no longer smells raw.
3. Add the tomato paste, 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/4 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp oregano and chili pepper if using to the pot and stir to mix them with the vegetables for 1 minute. It should look thick and paste-y and smell savory and delicious.
4. If you’re using a standard blender, turn off the heat and spoon the mixture into the blender. Open the tomatoes and spoon in the chunks of tomato along with some of the juice. into the blender. You don’t want to fill the blender, you just want enough liquid to cover the vegetables and tomatoes. Puree the contents until it is smooth then add it back to the pot along with any remaining tomatoes, 4 cups of stock and 1 Tbsp of salt. Turn the heat back on and bring it to a simmer (gentle bubbles on the surface). Then cover the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes, stirring periodically. Add 1 Tbsp of sherry vinegar, stir and taste the soup.
5. If you’re using an immersion blender, add the can of crushed tomatoes, 4 cups of stock and 1 Tbsp salt to the pot. Stir and bring the mixture to a simmer (gentle bubble on the surface). Then cover the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes, stirring periodically. Then stir in 1 Tbsp of sherry vinegar, turn off the heat and use the immersion blender to puree the soup. Give it a taste.
6. You may need more salt, so add a few pinches, stir and retry it. Does it seem too tart? Add a few pinches of sugar. Too mellow? Add a few dashes of Sherry vinegar. The soup should be a tad sweet and tart but adjust it to your liking. Enjoy!

Freeze it – Freeze cooled soup in freezer & microwave proof containers so you can easily reheat it. You’ll thank yourself later! I’ve also assembled and wrapped and frozen grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with the soup. Still a winning combo, no they’re just on equal footing 🙂

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