It's soup season, so I thought I would share my tomato soup recipe with you today. I cook to taste, so I don't really have measurements for my recipes; I apologize ahead of time if you're a cook who needs to follow a recipe with exact measurements. I will try my hardest to approximate measurements for you.
This soup turned out really good and thick! In case you missed my, "
13 random facts about me", I don't like chunky soup, so my soups are all blended! (sorry Joseph) Anything cooked with spices is better the day after you make it, so I've been making sauces and now soup in a crock pot and letting them cook on low over night and throughout the day. Our house smells so good right now! I'm contending with my next door neighbor; she makes the most wonderful smelling Indian dishes, and the smells seep through her walls into our house! Indian food smells so delicious!
Here is what I did to make this tasty soup!
Ingredients:
Two tablespoons of olive oil.
One carton of cherry tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half, or two to three regular tomatoes roughly chopped, ( I used cherry tomatoes 'cause they had been in my refrigerator for quite some time and needed to be eaten).
Four cloves of garlic roughly chopped.
One small yellow onion roughly chopped.
Ground black pepper (roughly a tsp)
Sea salt (roughly two tsps)
Oregano (a couple medium pinches)
Basil ( just one small pinch)
Ground nutmeg (a couple of small shakes)
One bay leaf (optional but really makes a difference in the flavor of your soups. Splurge for the bay leaf!)
Two tablespoons of sugar or two regular carrots roughly chopped, (carrots are full of sugar, so if you don't want to use actual sugar, throw in carrots, you'll feel better).
Two pints of bottled tomatoes or 32 oz of canned stewed tomatoes.
Two chicken bullion cubes or two tablespoons of chicken bullion.
16 oz of water.
The process:
In a large pot on medium heat, saute onions in olive oil until they are lightly brown. Then add garlic cloves, black pepper, salt, oregano, basil, and nutmeg. Let all of these ingredients roast together for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, stir often to prevent burning.
Next, add chopped up tomatoes and carrots if you've opted out of using actual sugar. let the tomatoes and carrots roast with the spice and oil mixture for about 5 minutes.
Next, add two pints of bottled tomatoes or 32 oz of canned stewed tomatoes, 16 oz of water, two chicken bullion cubes, sugar (if you didn't use carrots), and a bay leaf. Mix everything together well.
Let cook on the stove for about 30 minutes to an hour on medium-low heat with the lid on the pot. If you're going to eat the soup right away, use an immersion blender to blend the soup and serve, (you can also use a regular blender or food processor, whatever you have). However, I suggest transferring the soup to your crock pot and letting it cook on low heat over night, even throughout the next day. The next day before blending, pull out the bay leaf, blend the soup and serve.
*before serving taste your soup, if it's bland add more black pepper, about 1/2 tsp. If the soup is bitter with a strong tomato flavor, add more sugar, about 1 tsp.
We love to eat tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, who doesn't? We also love to bake good bread for dipping, such as focaccia or french bread. Tortilla chips are great crunched up an served on top of the soup, and don't forget to add grated cheese!
Enjoy this very tasty soup!
