Today is a wet dreary, mid-January day and I just felt like soup. I’ve had zero appetite for the past week and I thought I needed to find a way to eat something (never thought I’d say that in my entire adult life) and perhaps some homemade soup might be a start. A classic tomato soup is easy to make, doesn’t require much effort and I am pretty sure the kids will like it too. And this one served with a grilled bread or even a cheese sandwich will probably go ever well. If they are not fans, well then I’ll toss the rest in my tiny freezer and eat the rest at a different date.
For anyone that knows me at all knows that I LOVE SOUP! Back in Boston, the New England Soup Factory was one of my favorite places to go – with locations at the time in Brookline, Newton & Salem they were close to work and home no matter where I was living. We used to pick up some frozen containers and keep them in the house in case we needed a quick meal. No idea where they have locations now – hopefully they are still booming like they were back in 2012. Before we moved abroad, I even bought their cookbook. For some reason though, I don’t pick it up much and make much of their soups, but rather find more inspiration from posts I see on the Pinterests, bloggers or from restaurants, etc. Maybe this post will inspire to make more?
Marjorie the co-owner, is featured on some How2Hero’s Videos where she makes some dishes and some of her amazing soups.
Spicy Chicken & Rice Flu Chaser Soup
Greek Orzo Lemon & Chicken
Vegetable Minestrone
Chinese Hot & Sour Soup
Creamy Tomato
I didn’t follow a recipe, but just went off how I’ve made it in the past. First create the basic mirepoix, add fresh tomatoes and broth cook – and in the end, I pureed it.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- 2 medium onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- 1 chicken and 1 vegetable stock tub
- 1.5 litres of water
- 6 large ripe tomatoes
- 1 can tomato paste
- Laurel Leaf (Bay leaf)
- Optional: Basil leaves & tinned tomatoes
- Salt & pepper to season
DIRECTIONS:
- Peel and roughly slice the carrots, slice the celery, and peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add all the prepped ingredients, then cook with lid ajar for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened. Add bit of salt & pepper.
- Add the stock tubs into a glass measuring cup, cover with about 1.5 litres of boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
- Add the stock to the veg pan with fresh whole tomatoes. Add tomato paste. Optional: Add a can of tinned tomato.
- Give it a good stir, add laurel leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the pan from the heat and remove laurel leaf. Optional stir through the basil leaves.
- Using a stick blender and pulse the soup until smooth. Taste and check the seasoning, then serve.