Winter Tomato Soup |
Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Great for Meal Prep.
Bounty May Be Overrated
Last winter after a big snow, the dog attached me to her leash and took me for a walk through Tower Grove Park, a Victorian jewel here in St. Louis and a four-season mid-city modern oasis turned silent beneath a winter muffle.
Just days before, it had been unseasonably warm – 70s in January?! – so with new cold, the open water around the fountain was shrinking, constricting the resident ducks who nevertheless quacked with apparent content.
So too is our winter food supply constricted although imports from the summer of the southern hemisphere disguise the fact.
In the void that is winter fresh food, we turn to our pantries and our freezers, happy to lighten the load on their shelves and our waistlines.
Bounty may be overrated. Some times, fewer choices are worth a quack of contentment.
Homemade Tomato Soup: It's a Thing.
Is tomato soup made from scratch really a thing? It is in my kitchen! Yours, too?
Over the years, I've collected several tomato soup recipes, all slightly different, all demanding grilled cheese sandwiches on the side, wink wink.
- FOR WINTER, WITH CANNED TOMATOES Winter Tomato Soup (recipe below), roasting and slow-cooking draw out summer flavors from canned tomatoes
- FOR SUMMER, WITH RIPE GARDEN TOMATOES Summer's Tomato Soup, a completely different soup, for those in the southern hemisphere!
- YEAR-ROUND, WITH FRESH BASIL Rustic Tomato Basil Soup, tomato basil with chunky vegetables.
- WHEN YOU NEED SOUP, NOW Two-Can Ten-Minute Homemade Tomato Soup, is it really homemade? I say yes, yes, yes.
Roasted Tomatoes: The Secret
The trick to homemade tomatoes soup in the winter is to start with canned tomatoes, then to roast them with a pinch of sugar to draw out even more flavor. Then the soup needs to simmer for three hours, on the stove, in the oven, even in a slow cooker.
Yes, it's that easy!
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How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe homemade tomato soup hits the mark, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...Just updated! First published way back in 2009.
WINTER TOMATO SOUP
Time to table: 4 - 5 hours
Makes 6 cups
- 56 or 58 ounces (2 large 28-ounce cans or 4 small 14.5-ounce cans) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 leeks, white and green parts only, trimmed, halved lengthwise, washed well, sliced into half moons (for a photo tutorial, see how to clean leeks)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (see TIPS)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups liquid (vegetable stock or another stock or water)
ROAST THE TOMATOES Set the oven to 475F/250C. Drain the tomatoes in a colander, reserving the juice. Arrange the tomatoes in single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with brown sugar and roast for 20 minutes plus whatever preheating time remains.
MAKE THE SOUP Meanwhile, melt the butter on medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven, make sure it's oven-proof if finishing the soup in the oven. Add the leeks and sauté until golden, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste, nutmeg and flour; cook for a minute to cook off the floury taste, stirring all the while. Slowly add the liquid a tablespoon at a time at first, stirring to incorporate each addition before adding more. Stir in the roasted tomatoes and reserved tomato juice. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Decide how to finish the soup.
STOVETOP OPTION Cover and let barely simmer for 3 hours.
OVEN OPTION Reduce the oven temperature to 350F/180C. Cover and cook for 3 hours.
CROCKPOT OPTION Transfer to a slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours.
CREAMY TOMATO SOUP Winter Tomato Soup is a hearty and intensely tomato-flavored soup. For something more delicate, stir in milk or cream.
TOMATO ORANGE SOUP For a fruity variation, stir in a cup of orange juice and a half cup of cream.
TOMATO COCONUT CURRY SOUP For Thai-style flavor, stir in a can of coconut milk. To add a bit of curry heat, mix a dab of Thai red or green curry paste into some of the liquid before adding.
More Recipes Especially for Winter
(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)~ more winter recipes ~
More Hearty Soup Recipes
(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)~ more soup recipes ~
Recent Favorites from A Veggie Venture
~ Cabbage & White Bean Stew ~~ Low-Carb Fried "Potatoes" ~
~ Homemade Minestrone Soup ~
If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.
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2009 & 2020 (repub)
OR - use your slow-roasted tomatoes that you froze from your summer garden! ;)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good Alanna. It always surprises me when people put "spices" (nutmeg) in savory dishes. I never think of them. I'll have to try this.
My family loves this soup. I am making it every week, sometimes twice! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteKim ~ That’s just lovely, thanks for letting me know!
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