Tomato Soup!
Oh tomatoes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! It makes me so sad that tomato season will soon be over. I bought a flat of tomatoes from the farmers market today, in hopes of delaying the sudden denial of their juicy, local goodness. But after the farmers market I went a did a silly thing. I used about half of the flat of tomatoes to make an oh so delicious tomato soup and then fed said soup to my friends. Although, I guess my friends are worth it and now I have a yummy tomato soup recipe to share!
I've actually made a few different tomato soups in my search for the one that I liked the best. Most of the recipes I could find for using fresh tomatoes called for both chicken stock and a roux. For those not up to date on their French culinary terms, a roux is a cooked flour and butter mixture that you generally add to stews to thicken the broth. So it seemed odd that you would simultaneously thin the soup with the broth and thicken it with roux. It seemed kind of like adding egg and breadcrumbs to a hamburger. You would just be getting less of the good stuff. But, I figured that maybe they had something there. So I made a version of the soup with the roux and while it was tasty, it tasted a bit like tomato sauce instead of tomato soup and it was kind of greasy. I needed to try again before taking the recipe prime time.
So the soup recipe that I finally fell in love with is clean and simple. It's very tomatoey and delicious. I roasted the garlic for this soup and while I definitely think it's worth the extra step if you have the time, if you don't, just saute chopped garlic with the onions. It's still plenty yummy that way. Enjoy the soup!
Fresh Tomato Soup
1 medium yellow onion
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt + more to taste
4 lbs fresh tomatoes, chopped
3 medium cloves of garlic, roasted
1) Dice the onion and saute with the olive oil and 1 tsp salt in a soup pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2) When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes and roasted garlic. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are mushy, stirring occasionally.
3) Remove from heat and, using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add more salt to taste. You can also use a regular blender and puree the cooled soup in batches, reheating after blending.* Enjoy with sour cream, a grilled cheese sandwich, or just straight up!
*I highly recommend owning an immersion blender. They can be super cheap and they are super handy. I also recommend buying one in which the blade section separates from the motor section, to allow for much easier cleaning.
For those who are wondering why I seem to be trending toward soup, it's because my house is cold. The previous owners of the house emptied the oil tank before I bought it, so I have no heat. But next week heat arrives! I'm finally getting the tank filled next week! Yay! So maybe I switch over to iced tea or something...
*EDIT* One day later I took my leftover tomato soup and made it a meal by heating it up with some fresh, raw corn and fully cooked smoked chicken sausage cut into bite-sized bits. It was very yummy!
I've actually made a few different tomato soups in my search for the one that I liked the best. Most of the recipes I could find for using fresh tomatoes called for both chicken stock and a roux. For those not up to date on their French culinary terms, a roux is a cooked flour and butter mixture that you generally add to stews to thicken the broth. So it seemed odd that you would simultaneously thin the soup with the broth and thicken it with roux. It seemed kind of like adding egg and breadcrumbs to a hamburger. You would just be getting less of the good stuff. But, I figured that maybe they had something there. So I made a version of the soup with the roux and while it was tasty, it tasted a bit like tomato sauce instead of tomato soup and it was kind of greasy. I needed to try again before taking the recipe prime time.
So the soup recipe that I finally fell in love with is clean and simple. It's very tomatoey and delicious. I roasted the garlic for this soup and while I definitely think it's worth the extra step if you have the time, if you don't, just saute chopped garlic with the onions. It's still plenty yummy that way. Enjoy the soup!
Fresh Tomato Soup
1 medium yellow onion
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt + more to taste
4 lbs fresh tomatoes, chopped
3 medium cloves of garlic, roasted
1) Dice the onion and saute with the olive oil and 1 tsp salt in a soup pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2) When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes and roasted garlic. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are mushy, stirring occasionally.
3) Remove from heat and, using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add more salt to taste. You can also use a regular blender and puree the cooled soup in batches, reheating after blending.* Enjoy with sour cream, a grilled cheese sandwich, or just straight up!
*I highly recommend owning an immersion blender. They can be super cheap and they are super handy. I also recommend buying one in which the blade section separates from the motor section, to allow for much easier cleaning.
For those who are wondering why I seem to be trending toward soup, it's because my house is cold. The previous owners of the house emptied the oil tank before I bought it, so I have no heat. But next week heat arrives! I'm finally getting the tank filled next week! Yay! So maybe I switch over to iced tea or something...
*EDIT* One day later I took my leftover tomato soup and made it a meal by heating it up with some fresh, raw corn and fully cooked smoked chicken sausage cut into bite-sized bits. It was very yummy!
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