September is the start of soup season. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Besides, it’s been rainy here lately. There’s something soothing about brewing a pot of something hot between lightning flashes and bone-rumbling thunder.
Between the rain and the soup, your house will smell amazing. This one uses browned onions, roasted garlic, fresh basil, and a hint of balsamic vinegar. One diced potato thickens it and adds some texture. Canned tomatoes work the best here, since their water content doesn’t vary as much as fresh tomatoes. Watch the sugar—every can is different in terms of acidity, so you’ll want to taste the soup and add more as needed.
We ate this with thick slices of Italian bread with muenster cheese broiled on top. My neighbor, who let me clip this gorgeous basil from her garden, melted mozzarella cheese on top of it, which is also a spectacular idea. But if cheese isn’t your thing, or you’re recovering from the other cheesy recipes on this website, the soup is just as good by itself. And you’ll notice there’s no cream at all. As much as we love dairy and carbs around here, they’re not the only comfort foods, just arguably the best.
However, as previously discussed, sometimes your body needs fruit. Or vegetables. Or whatever they’ve decided tomatoes are. Who even knows anymore. Either way, next time rain is in the forecast, give this bright, flavorful soup a try.
tomato soup
serves 4
time: 1 hour (30 minutes active, 30 minutes inactive)
ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4-5 cloves roasted garlic
3 tablespoons flour
28 oz whole tomatoes and juices (roughly chopped)
1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, plus more as needed
3 cups stock, chicken or vegetable
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
directions
- Heat olive oil and butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and balsamic vinegar and cook until onions are brown, about 25-30 minutes. Add roasted garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add flour and cook until brown, 1—2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, potato, salt, pepper, sugar, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add basil and cook 5 more minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend soup. Alternatively, blend in small batches in a blender. I like to blend half of the soup until totally smooth and leave the other half a little less smooth, for some texture. Return to pot.
- Serve, garnished with more basil.