This is a good soup for summer, a hearty tomato stew. Which is it, a soup or a stew? That depends upon whose directions you follow. The directions below give you a soup. I improvised and got a stew instead.
Ingredients
Half a cup onion, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup carrot, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
28 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped and undrained OR 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tablespoon freh basil, minced
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled
Directions
1. In a big pot, sauteé the onion and the celery and carrot in oil until onion is soft (about 7 minutes).
2. Stir in garlic and sauteé briefly, about 30 seconds.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, water, and basil. Bring to simmer and cook until carrots are tender.
4. Remove from heat, add cheese, cover, and let sit for 3 minutes, stir to blend. Salt and pepper to taste.
Results
Trial 1: Instructions unclear, dick caught in ceiling fan. I didn't even know I had one of those.
Trial 2: Failed to follow instructions. Used twice reccommended amount of onion, mushrooms instead of celery, doubled the carrots, no cheese, and not enough garlic. Also, I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned, and I cooked the whole thing way down (I forget how long), so it turned into a stew. Why use canned tomatoes when I have fresh ones before me?
The result was a stew of onion, carrot, and tomato, instead of a soup of tomato with onion and celery flavoring. Simmering with lid on retains moisture, making soup more watery; simmering with lid off reduces moisture and makes a stew.
Trial 3: Heard a noise behind me. Saw White Pepper ducking out of sight. Went to find him. He had disappeared. Dang.
Trial 4: tried with Gorgonzola. Cheese overwhelms taste, crowding out tomato and carrot. Gorgonzola not reccomended. Cheese not reccomended.
Try the recipe this way, then:
Follow instructions above, substituting 1/4 cup mushroom for celery, no cheese, 1 yellow onion (diced), whole fresh tomatoes instead of canned, skip garlic, double carrots, add extra tablespoon olive oil to pot before sauteéing. Sautée carrots, onions, mushroms thouroughly on high before adding tomatoes and water. After which, stir well, then let stew on high heat, stirring occasionally, for...a while, I don't know how long...say, until tomatoes are boiled into mush. Pour into bowl and serve to unsuspecting family.