Blended Tomato Soup with Accidental Garlic
My partner and I disagree about soup sometimes, and tomato soup in particular. My vision of tomato soup is of a tomato-based broth with lots of vegetables floating in it, maybe little meatballs if I'm channelling my grandmother. His vision seems to be Campbell's soup from the can; he says my soups are really just watery stews. While I will continue to make and enjoy minestrone and other "watery stews" which come intutitively to me, it turns out blended soups are fun and easy as well. Here's one that was largely inspired by his vision.
What You'll Need (Equipment)
- 2 or 3-liter (quart is ok too, obviously) saucepan.
- something heatproof to stir with
- cutting board and knife for cleaning veggies
- blender (I used my blender on a stick, and it worked great)
Ingredients
What you do
Make a mirepoix by chopping carrots and onion, and sautéing them in 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Chop the celery and add it to the sautéing veggies. Dice the red pepper and add it in as well.
When the veggies start getting soft (the onion will start to become translucent and smell sweetly pungent... mmm), add a pinch or two of salt and grind in some pepper (a few shakes of pre-powdered pepper is ok too, but I'm a fresh-ground pepper junkie, myself). Let the mixture simmer another minute or two (don't forget to stir).
Shake in some italian seasoning. Stir. When everything's going to mush, add a few tablespoons of vegetable stock or water. Stir. (Note added 8 November 2002: the more vegetable stock or water used, the more soup you get, especially if you let the veggies cook in the water for a long time, thereby making a quick simulation of vegetable stock as you go along. But be reasonable; one onion, a few carrots, and some celery are not going to make more than a quart/liter or two or soup unless you want to cook them for a REALLY long time.)
Turn off the burner under the pot and take it off the heat. When you feel safe doing so (don't burn yourself!) pour the pot's contents into the blender. Moosh the veggies and broth up till they're all one consistency.
Return the veggie moosh to the soup pot; realize you've forgotten to use any garlic. Turn the stove under the pot to low heat.
Clean and peel several cloves of garlic; put these in the blender, with the cans of tomatoes. Blend everything till it's a uniform consistency; stir into the soup.
Add more stock or water to thin out the soup if it seems necessary; turn the heat up to medium and let everything cook together for at least five to ten minutes.
Makes AT LEAST 1 very full 2-liter saucepan of soup; you should probably use a 3-liter pot to be on the safe side. This translates into at least 3 or 4 meal-size servings that go well with cheese quesadillas and crackers, but I bet grilled cheese sandwiches would be great, too.
Last updated by fab on 8 November 2002.