In another installment of Cooking from Cookbooks, I turn again to Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This time, some comforting tomato soup for the wintry weather we’ve been having.
Of course, I couldn’t leave well-enough alone, so I added a couple of touches that I think makes a soup with more depth (to be fair, they were based on recommendations for Bittman’s Wintertime Tomato Soup – in the same cookbook). Very easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry, so have at it! Serve with some grilled cheese sandwiches to round out the nostalgia quotient.
Tomato Soup (adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups peeled cored, seeded and chopped tomato (canned are fine with their juices, I used a large 28 oz can for my soup)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2-3 cups vegetable stock, tomato water or water
4 plum tomatos, halved (optional)
4-6 cloves of garlic (optional)
minced parsley and breadcrumbs for garnish (optional)
TO DO:
OPTIONAL STEP: If you want soup with a deeper flavor, you should roast some tomatoes or use sundried tomatoes! I halved 4 plum tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a 400F oven for about 20 minutes. Since I love roasted garlic, I also wrapped up some cloves of garlic, drizzled with olive oil, in tinfoil and roasted them along with the tomatoes. You can do this while you are prepping/making the rest of your soup and just add it all in at the very end! Worth it for minimal prep.
Ready for roasting!
- Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the tomato paste and let cook for a minute, then add the onion and carrot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until th eonion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and herb and cook, stirring occassionaly, until the tomato pieces break up, 10-15 minutes.
- Add the stock and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir and taste. If using the roasted tomatoes and garlic, add them now. Puree the soup using a hand blender or very carefully using a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning; if the soup is flat tasting, stir in a bit of sugar. Not salty enough? Add more salt. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more stock or water and stir/blend.
- Garnish, if desired and serve with salad or a sandwich for a hearty meal.
