- Say hello to my little friend!
I really wanted to begin talking about this soup recipe by describing the chill in the air, the changing of leaves and the love of “soup weather”; but come on, the real reason I picked this particular recipe is because I got to buy and use a new immersion blender! What is an immersion blender? A small, handheld boat motor that can blend soups right in the sauce pan. I mean what could go wrong with a razor-sharp blade attached to a shaft spinning at a million RPMs? I think I actually grunted like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor when I used it.
Well, I guess we need to get to the food. I have been really craving tomato soup lately. I don’t know why – maybe I’m getting ready to hibernate. Well, I did my little Google search on tomato soup recipes and bingo! Found one by Michael Chiarello that sounded easy, tasty and I get to use above said man blender. I had a few reservations about the recipe when I first read it – roasting canned, diced tomatoes? What? But it worked, and worked well. Let’s get started.
Creamy Tomato Soup 
(serves 2)
1(28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small carrots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
Not pretty, but tasty
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
The classic "holy trinity" - onion, celery and carrot
Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaves and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using. Remove bay leaves and puree with a hand held immersion blender (YEAH!) until smooth.
My man blender
I served this with parmesan croutons. Just take cubes of good bread and mix in freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt, cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Spread on a sheet pan and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Since I had some parmesan left over, I made some crackers that Josh had described on a previous post but without the cool heart shape. Ray and I both back for seconds.
Sweetwater 420 bread croutons
I hate the saying, “Run, don’t walk to make this recipe!” but now that you have seen how much oil, butter and cream that was used, you may need to run and not walk to work these calories off.
All photos by Ray Hydrick
New Food
I shopped at Whole Foods today for the soup ingredients and I found a new bread they are making. It is made from the grains used to make Sweetwater 420 Beer. It is sweet, rich, malty bread and worked great as croutons. Try this bread. Yummy!
Tags: food immersion blender, Michael Chiarello, Sweetwater 420, tomato soup, Whole Foods
November 3, 2009 at 2:36 pm |
This was so tasty. OMG so tasty! I could have eaten the entire pot of soup. I’m having it again for lunch today and it might be a weekly staple during the winter. lol!
November 3, 2009 at 3:47 pm |
It will be a weekly staple. I need to develop a less-fat version.
November 3, 2009 at 3:48 pm |
If you don’t have a cool man blender, you can use a food processor (just blend it in batches) or a regular blender (be sure to vent the top – hot liquids in a blender will go everywhere!).
November 3, 2009 at 4:18 pm |
Nice! We got one of those at our shower and love it. Didn’t know we could use it for that.
November 3, 2009 at 5:13 pm |
Tip O’ the Day: Don’t pull it out of the soup while it is on – unless you plan on splatter painting your kicthen with soup. Believe me.
November 3, 2009 at 7:24 pm |
Sounds great. Makes me want a big bowl of that and a grilled cheese sandwich. Let me know when you figure out the lowfat versions of both, please.
November 3, 2009 at 9:50 pm |
sounds delicious. Matthew, don’t let Ray eat it all. Save me a sample to taste-test and I can try to lighten for Jamie.
November 4, 2009 at 8:11 pm |
What’s the fun in lighter food? Kidding. Sure. I think it is doable.
November 3, 2009 at 11:57 pm |
YUMMY! I’m making this next!
November 4, 2009 at 8:16 pm |
I will certainly make this again.
November 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
I made the soup last night, it was wonderful!!!!
Although, since I forgot to buy the carrots at the store (two children acting crazy distracted me, and I forgot), I left them out, but it was still very good! My husband thinks I’m the best cook in the world, thanks to y’all (And I did give y’all credit, I showed him your cooking diary).
Thanks!
Julie:)
p.s. I did not have one of those awesome immersion gadgets, but my blender worked well.
November 6, 2009 at 5:51 pm |
So glad you liked this recipe. I don’t think leaving out the carrots caused any lack of flavor – probably reduced the sweetness a little.
You don’t have to give us credit for your good cooking – it can be our little secret.;)
The blender works great – either vent it by opening the lid a little or the opening at the top with a kitchen towel or blend it very slowly. The build up of steam makes the lid explode. Bad for you and your walls. The kids may enjoy the fun though!
October 1, 2010 at 4:58 pm |
[...] Stick Blender This is the least messy option. Start by combining your milk and broth in a large dutch oven over medium heat. When it warms, add half the roasted vegetables (and all garlic, if using) and blend until smooth. Simply add the rest of the veggies and repeat. If the soup is too thick, add more broth or milk. Season to taste. Want to know more about stick blenders…read Matthew’s post here. [...]
February 17, 2012 at 3:59 am |
[...] me crave my favorite food pair – soup and grilled cheese. To feed this craving, I made the creamy tomato-basil soup I posted previously, so I wanted to concentrate on that tasty, toasty sandwich we loved as kids [...]