This was a recipe on a whim that I whipped up because I don’t want to waste food, and I was just too lazy to can tomatoes from my garden. So, you know what is delicious and freezes well? (If it makes it to the freezer) Tomato Soup! This recipe is picky-on-his-veggies husband approved! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did with a grilled cheese sandwich.
What you’ll need:
Yield 2 quarts so if you have more tomatoes, just increase accordingly
- 6 cups of halved or quartered tomatoes
- 1 onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves diced
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons give or take of Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme (you can use dried as well)
- 1/4 Cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 Cup chicken broth (to make the vegetarian, use vegetable broth)
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-2 Tablespoons of sugar
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Step by step:
First, rough chop your tomatoes and put them in a colander over a bowl. Toss the chopped tomatoes in some salt and let them drain into the bowl while you chop your onion and garlic. Reserve whatever juice is there for later….seeds and all.
Heat a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, chopped onions and garlic to the pan and cook until onions are translucent. Stir often so you don’t scorch your garlic.
Now, add your tomatoes to the pot along with thyme, basil, salt and pepper. As far as Salt and pepper, it’s according to your taste. I put about 2 teaspoons of salt and 3 teaspoons of pepper because I wanted a little spice to it. You can always add more salt at the end of the cook once you taste it.
Let the tomatoes cook for a bit. They will start releasing their liquid.
After you’ve cooked the tomatoes for about 10 or 15 minutes, add the chicken broth. My recipe says a cup, but eyeball it. Less if you want a thick soup, more if you want a thinner soup. Add Worcestershire. Stir.
In a small bowl, take 1 cup of leftover sauce from your tomatoes draining and add 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Whisk together to make a slurry. (You can use chicken or veggie broth as well) Add to the soup mixture along with sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn your heat down and simmer until thickened. (5-10 minutes)
Now, this is where it really comes together! Take an immersion blender and smooth out your soup. If you don’t have one, you can cool the mixture and then add to a food processor to blend.
Give it a taste and add more salt if you feel it needs it. If the acid from the tomatoes is strong to you, you can also add a little more sugar.
Dish up and enjoy!
If you don’t eat it all, you can let it cool down and then place in ziplock bags or freezer quarts and freeze. This reheats well – you’d never know it’s been in the freezer. I defrost by running a little warm water over the bag or container until it will slip out into a saucepan, then I cover over medium heat until its defrosted and heated through!
