Tomato Soup
A rich tomato and basil soup with a chicken stock base and cream, and a little Calabrian spiciness.
I made tomato soup this week! And gougères.
I've made this soup countless times, and honestly, this week's soup wasn't my strongest. It may have been the tomatoes, I was trying some new fire roasted ones. I also pulled back a bit on the Calabrian chili, since I thought I wanted the fire roasted tomatoes to come through. Or more likely I didn't quite nail the step at the end where I play with the cream-salt-sugar-baking soda balance. I tweaked a bowl of it by adding more of all that and liked it a bit better. But it was still darned tasty, and really it's just an excuse to shovel gougères into my mouth. (This has been the "I Have Doubt!" portion of the proceedings.)
Years ago, when I first started trying to make tomato soup, the recipes I tried either tasted like weak spaghetti sauce or heavy carrot juice. Yergh.
I was thrilled when I found the first version of this recipe on Natasha's Kitchen. That recipe is a little simpler than my final recipe shared here, and still fantastic–if you're missing some of the odder ingredients I use here, go use her recipe, you'll still love it. But over the years I’ve tweaked it in a few ways to add even more savory/spicy depth, into the version I’m sharing here.
For tomatoes, I like the Bianco DiNapoli brand, but I have no idea how widely available they are, only about half the stores here stock them. Take a quick Google moment to figure out which tomato brand near you is good, it makes a difference in a recipe like this.
At the end, I use a hand-held immersion blender to puree it. If you don’t have an immersion blender, consider investing in one. I find myself reaching for mine often. You can use a regular blender instead, in batches, but watch out moving the soup around while it’s hot. You could also skip blending and leave it chunky.
I'm not specifying the salt amount because honestly I have no idea. I add it in small amounts throughout the process: when I'm sautéing the onions, when I add the tomatoes, and then when I'm balancing it at the end. I've never measured it. If you're not yet used to salting to taste, go slow: you can always add more, but it's much harder to deal with something oversalted. Just be prepared to add-stir-taste, add-stir-taste, add-stir-taste for a while at the end to get it just right.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp bacon fat
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 anchovy, mashed
- 1 tbsp calabrian chili
- 2-28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper, or more to taste
- salt to taste (more than you think)
- ¼ tsp baking soda (if needed)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, or more to taste
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Melt butter and bacon fat in a non-reactive pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and some salt, sauté until softened and golden, about 10-15 minutes. Add minced garlic, anchovy, and calabrian chili and saute until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add crushed tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, basil, sugar, black pepper, and some salt. Stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a regular blender (use care, it’s hot), and blend until it’s as smooth as you’d like it (or don’t, if you prefer it chunky). Return the soup to the pot over medium heat.
- Add the heavy cream and parmesan, and return to a simmer.
- Taste and adjust with salt, sugar, cream, or baking soda. You may not need the baking soda; use it if the tomatoes seem too acidic (it can be more effective in getting a perfect balance than going overboard with the sugar and cream).
- Serve in bowls, topped with more basil and parmesan.
Makes 8 servings. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a few days, but because this has cream in it, it probably won't freeze well (I've never tried). I always serve this soup with Gougères, or grilled cheese sandwiches, or some kind of bread for dipping.
Here's a printer-friendly Google Doc version of the recipe:
