Tomato soup and grilled cheese…comfort food doesn’t get much better! And tomato soup doesn’t get much better than that made with garden grown tomatoes (or any in season tomatoes you can get, from friend or farmer). You can make this soup in less than an hour, adding cream or not, your choice.
This soup is designed for tomato purée made with fresh tomatoes. Tomato purée can be just made or previously frozen, as I sometimes do when I can’t keep up with my garden. See here if you want soup but are starting with a big pot of tomatoes.
Garden Tomato Soup
makes 2 generous quarts
Ingredients
- 1–2 leeks depending on size, 1 large or 2 moderate
- 1–2 yellow onions depending on size, 1 large or 2 moderate
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 sprig thyme
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 quarts fresh tomato purée freshly made or frozen and thawed
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup cream
Instructions
-
Prep the leeks by removing the root end, slicing lengthwise, and then across every 1/2-inch or so. Place in a bowl of water and jiggle around to remove any dirt from between the layers. Lift out and transfer to a clean kitchen towel or paper towel to dry. Peel and slice the onions.
-
Heat olive oil and butter in a soup pot over moderate heat on the stovetop. Add the sliced leeks and onions. Cook about 10 minutes without browning, reducing temperature if necessary, covering pot to sweat, giving a stir now and then. Add the thyme about half way through this time.
-
Sprinkle in the sugar and salt and stir. Add the tomatoes, water, and additional 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to boil and then lower to maintain a simmer, keeping pot partially covered. Cook for 30 minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat and let cool a bit before proceeding. Remove the thyme sprig.
-
Pass the soup through a food mill or chinois into a large bowl then transfer back to the pot, add the cream (up to 1 cup) and heat gently without boiling, which will curdle the cream.
Alternatively, you can use a blender, but this will make a thicker-textured soup as the onions and leeks will be puréed instead of extracted as with the other technique. Both methods make good soup.
