Tomato Soup: the Ultimate Comfort Food

In our house, tomato soup is the ultimate comfort food.  We have a few things that are our “go-to” foods that we want on days when nothing has gone right, or if one of us is having the type of day where we just want to build a pillow fort in a closet and pretend we don’t exist for a couple of hours.  Like pot pies, or mac and cheese with sliced hot dogs mixed in, tomato soup is one of those foods we equate with childhood happiness and a sense of “everything’s going to be all right.”

The two of us were brought up with canned tomato soup.  I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about, the type of soup that slips out of the can in a semi-solid cylinder and hits the pan with that distinctive *plork*.  Our moms had different methods of making it.  One mom used water to prepare it and the other used milk.  I like dropping a pat of butter into mine, while the Beard adds a LOT of crushed saltines.  Regardless of how it’s prepped, tomato soup has always ranked at the top of our list when it comes to foods that make us feel good.

Comfort Can Be Convenient (without coming from a can)

As we started moving away from prepared foods and making more things from scratch, we’ve slowly incorporated more soups to our meal rotations.  Yes, opening up a can of soup and heating it after a craptastic day is convenient.  We get it.  However, after making our own soups, we very rarely will even consider the canned stuff anymore.  Our trip down the soup aisle of the market is usually to grab a carton of broth for the cats’ meals, and they don’t have a problem with sharing when we need it.

Making soup from scratch is incredibly easy and tastes so much better than the canned stuff – the difference is night and day.  We control what goes into it, so all we get is that fresh flavor instead of salty aluminum can.  In addition to the taste, there’s the added benefit that we always make more than we’re actually going to eat, leaving us with leftovers to freeze.  

Tomato Soup, Made Just the Way You Like It

Another great thing about making our own tomato soup is that we can make it our way.  The only thing either of us ever added to a can of condensed tomato soup was the liquid used to make it, the aforementioned butter and crackers, and maybe a sprinkling of pepper on top.  Once, in a more experimental moment, I added a scoop of leftover rice to mine, which resulted in a bowl of vaguely tomato-flavored rice.  

Now that I’m giving it some thought, I don’t think either of us has ever added anything really flavorful to a bowl of the pre-made stuff.  It’s always something bland.  Anything really tasty would probably be overpowered by the blandness of the soup itself.  Maybe it’s like how nature uses color to indicate certain creatures are dangerous.  The natural culinary laws use that weirdly off-red shade of the soup to stop us from ruining a perfectly good ingredient by adding it to a barely acceptable bowl of soup.

Adding to the Flavor

With a homemade tomato soup, there’s nothing “vaguely tomato” about it.  The first time that we made it ourselves, I commented that it was almost like eating a bowl of straight tomato sauce.  Anything you add to the soup adds to its flavor rather than just sort of “surviving” it.  While this recipe is great on its own, adding extras can push it right into the realm of fabulousness.  Top your bowl with some super-crusty croutons and grated Parmesan for a lunch.  Add some cooked pasta or meat (or both!) and it’s converted from a starter dish to a hearty main course.  See the recipe notes for some variations we’ve tried!

In our case, we prefer a creamier tomato soup.  We thicken ours with breadcrumbs, and make this soup on a weekend when the Beard bakes some bread.  Usually about 1/2 cup will do, but you can adjust to your own preferences.  A quick blitz through a blender or food processor is all it really takes if you’re making your own, but if you’re using store bought breadcrumbs, you’ll want to use plain so the soup’s taste isn’t altered too much.

And trust us: take the time to check the label and get the San Marzano tomatoes.  The flavor is out of this world.

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Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort foods for a lot of people.  Investing in that little extra time on a good day to make a batch of this tomato soup will leave us with enough leftover soup for a quick meal on a bad day.

Ingredients

• 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatos chopped or diced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsely
• 2 tsps dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsps olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat your oil over medium-high heat until its surface gets shimmery.  Add the onion and saute until browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and brown until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes and broth to the pot and bring everything to a boil.  Turn the heat down, stir in the dried spices, and allow the soup to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve as is, or check out the variations listed in the recipe!

Recipe Notes

If you’re adding any extras to your soup do it AFTER you’ve pureed the soup: 

• pasta:  cook your pasta according to directions, leaving it just undercooked.  Add the pasta to the soup during the last 5 minutes, or until pasta is completely cooked
• meat:  ground Italian sausage is great!  Crumble 2-3 links of sausage and brown it separately, then add to the soup.  

Do you like a thicker soup?  Stir 1/2-1 cup of plain breadcrumbs into the soup after the blending.  You could probably also use cream or even plain yogurt, but I haven’t tried it.

 

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.