I have made so many different versions of tomato soup - and several that I really like - but some just take too long - like roasting your own garlic and tomatoes then putting them into a blender then straining it (which tastes amazing by the way) . But, I think this is a very happy medium of easy but tastes amazing. I make this with a side of bacon or avocado grilled cheese to accompany the soup and croutons.
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 medium-large white onion
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch Herbs de Provence (can do Italian seasoning if you don't have)
28 oz can whole peeled plum tomatoes
Good pour of heavy cream (1/4 cup-ish)
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Bundle of thyme
Basil for garnish
Parmesan for garnish
For the Grilled Cheese Croutons:
Any bread - I choose hardy white bread
Cheddar Cheese
Butter
Parmesan
OR fried panko mozzarella pearl croutons:
Drain and dry mozzarella pearls (make as many as you want)
Dip ball into flour - then beaten egg - then into panko - repeat twice so they are fully coated.
Place into hot vegetable oil and fry up for about 30 seconds.
I like to put a few fried pearls into the tomato soup. These are amazing.
Directions:
1. In a large pot, on medium to low heat - add the butter & olive oil - once melted, add the finely diced onion and minced garlic. We don't want to get a lot of color on these - just soften and saute them without browning. Add some salt and pepper.
2. After several minutes and the onion has softened, add the flour. Stirring to coat the onion and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour taste.
3. Puree the can of tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add the tomatoes, broth, sugar, garlic powder, pinch of herbs de provence , thyme bundle, cayenne, and a good amount of salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a simmer on medium heat stirring to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.
5. Reduce heat to low - cover and simmer for about 30-45 minutes. After, discard the thyme bundle and add the heavy cream. Try the soup and make sure it has the proper amount of seasoning. You can take this an extra step and put into a blender so the onions are all liquid as well - but to be honest, I like to have the little texture difference of the onions.
6. Now that the soup is finished - let it just sit on low in the pot while you make your grilled cheese croutons. Cut two slices of bread and put butter on the two outside pieces along with parmesan cheese on top of the butter - this will create flavor and a nice crust on the outside. Fill the inside with a ton of cheese.
7. In a skillet add a little more butter then add the sandwich in. Get it nice and brown on one side then flip. The parmesan/butter gives it the perfect golden brown.
8. Once the sandwich has melty cheese and browned, cut into strips then from there into little squares.
9. Ladle the soup into a bowl, garnish it with the grilled cheese croutons and a piece of basil and some more parmesan on top. This soup is even better almost the next day - so this is a great make ahead soup and you can just reheat on the stove!
xoxo Chef Em
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