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I love, love, love tomato soup. Especially with a grilled cheese sandwich, or some crackers and cheese, or those little Brazilian cheese puffs you can get at Costco (do you sense a theme here?). But what I don’t love is ready-made tomato soup from a can, since it is usually too sweet and thick for my liking.
Fortunately, it’s relatively fast and easy to make your own. Here are two recipes, one using fresh ingredients and one using canned. They’re both fantastic.
When I was in Italy in 2013 for a weeklong cooking school course, I learned to make this tomato soup from scratch using fresh tomatoes and basil (picked from the garden that day), with olive oil and garlic and toasted bread cut into croutons. Blanching and peeling the tomatoes is a little fussy, but the result tastes completely outstanding.
Franco’s Tomato Soup
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 quarts vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 300 grams day-old Italian bread
- 1 large bunch basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut a shallow "x" into the skin of each tomato with a sharp knife. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside. Bring a large pot of water to boiling, and carefully drop the tomatoes in.
- Blanch the tomatoes for 2 minutes, then scoop them out and place them into the ice water for several minutes until they're cool enough to handle. Peel and discard the skins, and cut the tomatoes into quarters.
- Place the peeled tomatoes, olive oil, and garlic into a large saucepan. Bring them to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Puree the mixture in a food processor until smooth and return it to the pan (or use an immersion blender right in the pan). Add the broth and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
- Tear the basil into small pieces.
- In the meantime, cut the bread into crouton sized cubes and toast them in the oven.
- Add the basil and croutons and stir until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
And for times when I don’t have fresh tomatoes available, this “dump and stir” soup made from pantry ingredients is great.
Easy Tomato Soup
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 chicken bouillon cube or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon base (paste)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Let cook for about 15 minutes so the flavors blend.
- Serve hot.