Creamy Tomato Soup
Tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort foods and this version comes without the 700+ milligrams of sodium per serving you get in the canned variety.
So can the cans, make the soup, fix yourself a grilled cheese and be thankful for the simple pleasures in life. Oh, and if you have leftovers you can pour it over pasta.
1.5 onions
2 ribs celery
4 cloves garlic
9 roasted plum tomatoes*
2-3 c tomato sauce
3 c chicken or veg stock
.75 c whipping cream
1 T oil
2 T butter
1 t baking soda
2 bay leaves
S + P
1.5 T basil (optional)
1-2 T honey (optional)
If roasting tomatoes, get them started first (400 degrees, 30-40 min). Mince the vegetables and saute onions and celery for 10 minutes in oil and butter. Why both? Flavor, my dears. Add the garlic last so it doesn’t burn and saute another minute or two. Give it a nice sprinkle of salt and pepper before moving to the next step.
Chop, mince or puree tomatoes. You choose the consistency. Add baking soda to tomatoes before adding them to the pot. Baking soda helps to keep the cream from curdling. Saute tomatoes with onion mixture for 15 – 20 min adding broth and tomato sauce bit by bit to keep the vegetables from sticking.
Add the remaining tomato sauce and broth. Start with 2 c of tomato sauce and keep tasting to decide on the intensity you want. Add the bay leaf and basil (if using) and cook on low for about an hour. Add the cream last and honey (if using).
*Roasting isn’t imperative. I was using tomatoes frozen at the end of last summer so roasting served as a carmelizer and a liquid reducer.
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