The smoothest tomato soup you can make at home. With the purest flavors too. How to make it? Start with a good base and use vegetable stock instead of the usual chicken broth. No cream? Nope. This is as rustic as it gets.
Cook’s notes
You’ll be amazed at what you can do with just a few basic ingredients. An onion, a few cloves or garlic, a sprig of fresh oregano, diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, salt, pepper and a wee bit of sugar are all you need. There is, of course, a little trick which I find so essential in making tomato soup.
When you saute the onion, garlic and oregano, wait until the onion and garlic start to brown before adding the tomatoes and broth. The caramelization gives the soup a much richer flavor.
A can of diced tomatoes is used here. It’s four days before Christmas and the price of fresh vegetables has gone over the roof, so to speak. If using fresh, get the juiciest ones you can find. Just dice (no need to remove the seeds) and add to the pot.
An immersion blender was used to liquefy the solids in the soup. If you don’t have one, a regular blender will do. Note, however, that because you’re dealing with hot soup just off the stove, you’ll need to take extra care.
After pouring the soup into the blender, snap on the cover then place a kitchen towel on top. Place your hand on the towel and press down lightly before turning on the machine. This is so the cover of the blender does not fly off. It often does when the processing hot liquid because of the steam build-up, and especially if the pitcher is more than half full.
Tomato soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil not extra virgin
- 1 onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 sprig oregano stripped
- 1 can diced tomatoes 400 grams / 14 ounces
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 pinch chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pot.
- Spread the onion, garlic and oregano in the hot oil and saute, stirring often, until the onion slices and garlic are just starting to brown.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and vegetable stock.
- Season with salt, pepper, half a teaspoon of sugar and chili flakes.
- Bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes.
- Take the pot off the stove, plunge in an immersion blender and process until the soup is smooth.
- Taste, adjust the seasonings, if needed, before serving.
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