Your Own Tomato Soup ~ In Winter

Move over Campbells.

This one doesn't look like your average canned tomato soup, but it IS made from canned tomatoes using a terrific method to develop a deeper flavor.

An excellent homemade winter tomato soup, nearly from scratch, and from ingredients you probably have on your shelf.

The recipe is from Michael Chiarello and utilizes a great technique of roasting drained, diced, canned tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil before adding them to the remainder of the soup ingredients.

It's your choice whether to add cream to enrich the soup at the end of cooking, or not. Honestly, I like it either way.

When the soup is a beautiful color, as this one is, I like serve in these little tempered glass pots. I believe they are sauce containers, but they work perfectly for a nice serving of soup, chili or stew. The capacity is 10 fluid ounces.

I purchased mine from Allyson's Kitchen my favorite stop when in Ashland or Bend, Oregon. (And they ship!)

Your Own Tomato Soup In Winter

Ingredients:

1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I reduce this amount substantially)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat,(use your judgement for amount of oil, I just coat the bottom of the pan with a thin veil).

Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add basil and cream, if using.

Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

Recipe adapted from Michael Chiarello.