Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe
I'm sure if you made this tomato soup recipe with fresh Jersey tomatoes when they are in season and perfectly ripe it would taste better but sometimes you are craving a hot tomato soup when the weather is cold outside. In this case, I used canned tomatoes and still received rave reviews from family and friends.
There are many brands of canned tomatoes on the market these days so it is important to pick the one that has the best flavor to you. Look for whole, peeled tomatoes that are firm and aren't too salty or have that processed taste.
Classic tomato soup is very simple with some basic ingredients. I added two extra ingredients to this recipe to give it additional flavor and then added a puff pastry topping because I talked about it in a blog post, Tomato Soup with Pastry On Top and wanted to give it a try. The additional ingredients were both added at the end and were cream and roasted peppers. You can experiment with your own variations using different herbs or dairy products including sour cream, crème fraiche, heavy cream or soft cheese.
Puff Pastry
You can make this soup more fancy with the addition of a pastry crust. Here's a recipe from my friend Chef Jennifer Field for making a pastry crust, but she also suggests trying the frozen ready-made puff pastry available at your supermarket.
I opted for the second option and it was a hit.
Tomato Soup Recipe
| Prep Time: 15 min |
Cook Time: 1 hr |
Total Time: 1.25 hrs |
Servings: 6 |
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 1-tablespoon butter
- 1 large white onion, chopped finely
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock
- One 28 oz. can of whole peeled plum tomatoes (with juice)
- Sugar, to taste
- Red wine vinegar, to taste
- 1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1 small jar of roasted peppers
How To Make At Home:
Start by heating a big soup pot over medium heat, add the butter and oil and then the chopped onion & garlic. When the onions are soft, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, sugar, a little red wine vinegar, thyme and salt & pepper.
Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a simmer. Once at a simmer, lower the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes.
When the soup is done, remove the thyme twig(s) and puree the soup. You can use a blender or food processor. I like using my hand blender. It works great, is easy to clean and I don't have to lug the big pot over to the food processor and inevitably spill some soup on the counter.
I added the heavy cream and roasted peppers just before I pureed the soup but I guess you could add them 5 minutes before the soup is done. For me the peppers were a last minute addition that I wasn't planning from the start and it worked out great.
After pureeing the soup, let it cool down before serving. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
