A long, long time ago I tried some of the tomato soup that comes in the red and white can, and honestly I wasn’t impressed. I thought I just didn’t like tomato soup, but now I see how very wrong I was. This simple tomato soup is made with diced tomatoes, stock and milk. There are also onions and a bit of salt. I had all the ingredients on hand and some tomatoes to use up in the freezer so I figured that it was worth a shot.
With such a simple ingredients list I really, really wanted to “doctor up” the recipe to add bunches of spices. But, I’m so glad I stuck with it and made the recipe exactly as written. It was fantastic! My 7 year old loved it and declared that he could eat 5 bowlfuls. :)
Tomato soup is just one of many recipes in a brand new book, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons, written by Kimberly Harris of The Nourishing Gourmet. I’ve been a big fan the recipes Kimi has shared on her blog for quite some time and when she asked me to review a copy of Ladled I was so excited! Ladled has 250 pages of recipes with mouth watering photos, along with a pictorial index. I’m really picky about which cookbooks I give a space to in my small collection and have donated many to charity, but this one is definitely a keeper- real food, family friendly and yummy pictures! I’d definitely recommend that you check out Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons for oh so many delicious ways to get more nutrient dense food into your family throughout the year. :)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or fat of your choice
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 3 cups of freshly chopped tomatoes (or diced, canned tomatoes can be used)
- 2 cups stock (veggie, chicken or beef)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups milk (dairy or almond)
Instructions
- Heat the fat over medium high heat in a medium pot and add onions and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and sauté until onions are soft, stirring frequently. It takes about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes begin to get mushy.
- Stir in the broth, making soda and milk and generously season with salt.
- Puree the liquid with an immersion blender or blend in batches. If you used peeled tomatoes you're all done. If using tomatoes with peels, strain the soup through a fine wire sieve, pressing liquid through with the back of a spoon.
- Serve topped with toasted croutons, grilled cheese, or a sliced of toasty bread with butter and a big salad.
Why ever buy in a can when you have this?
It’s 9:15 AM – and this sounds like a great lunch idea! My husband loves tomato soup, and I have all the ingredients. Any idea what the baking soda is supposed to do?
Loru- sorry for my delayed reply! We’re in the midst of moving so things are a bit hectic. I think that the baking soda is supposed to help reduce the acidity of the tomatoes.
No problem, Katie. I used the magic of google and found the answer…:-) When I added the baking soda it fizzed up. If I had small kids at home that would have been fun to do with them…
I DID make that soup, and will never buy another red & white canned cream of tomato soup again. It was a hit! And so easy.
Thanks for sharing – and responding. Hope the move went well.
That’s funny. I used to hate the canned tomato soup too. Thought I just didn’t like tomato soup.hehe. But I love the real stuff and I also love how simple the recipe is. Why complicate it.