Three Tomato Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and cook onion and garlic until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, celery seed, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Reheat soup until warm and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Steps:

• In a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven, heat oil, butter and pepper flakes over medium heat until butter is melted. Add carrots and onion; cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, to let flavors blend, 20-25 minutes. , Remove pan from heat. Using a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth. If desired, slowly stir in heavy cream, stirring continuously to incorporate; return to stove to heat through. Top servings with fresh basil if desired.

Steps:

• Combine the olive oil, Italian seasoning, and onion powder in a medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until the spices infuse into the oil, about 5 minutes.
• Add the mixed vegetables, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is well- coated, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes with their juices, then fill the empty can halfway with water; swirl and add to the soup. Add one-third of the beans along with half their liquid. Simmer for 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mash the remaining beans and their liquid with a fork directly in the can until slightly smooth; stir into the soup. Add 2 tablespoons water to the empty can, scrape with a rubber spatula to release any mashed beans, then stir into the soup. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide among bowls and enjoy.

Steps:

• Firstly, prepare your vegetables. You need 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes. If the tomatoes are on their vines, pull them off. The green stalky bits should come off at the same time, but if they don't, just pull or twist them off afterwards. Throw the vines and green bits away and wash the tomatoes. Now cut each tomato into quarters and slice off any hard cores (they don't soften during cooking and you'd get hard bits in the soup at the end). Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.
• Spoon 2 tbsp olive oil into a large heavy-based pan and heat it over a low heat. Hold your hand over the pan until you can feel the heat rising from the oil, then tip in the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Still with the heat low, cook the vegetables until they're soft and faintly coloured. This should take about 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Holding the tube over the pan, squirt in about 2 tsp of tomato purée, then stir it around so it turns the vegetables red. Shoot the tomatoes in off the chopping board, sprinkle in a good pinch of sugar and grind in a little black pepper. Tear 2 bay leaves into a few pieces and throw them into the pan. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan and their juices flow nicely. From time to time, give the pan a good shake - this will keep everything well mixed.
• Slowly pour in the 1.2 litres/ 2 pints of hot stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes), stirring at the same time to mix it with the vegetables. Turn up the heat as high as it will go and wait until everything is bubbling, then turn the heat down to low again and put the lid back on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times. At the end of cooking the tomatoes will have broken down and be very slushy looking.
• Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and stand back for a few seconds or so while the steam escapes, then fish out the pieces of bay leaf and throw them away. Ladle the soup into your blender until it's about three-quarters full, fit the lid on tightly and turn the machine on full. Blitz until the soup's smooth (stop the machine and lift the lid to check after about 30 seconds), then pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat with the soup that's left in the pan. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating.)
• Pour the puréed soup back into the pan and reheat it over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until you can see bubbles breaking gently on the surface. Taste a spoonful and add a pinch or two of salt if you think the soup needs it, plus more pepper and sugar if you like. If the colour's not a deep enough red for you, plop in another teaspoon of tomato purée and stir until it dissolves. Ladle into bowls and serve. Or sieve and serve chilled with some cream swirled in. For other serving suggestions, see opposite.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper, then drizzle with 3 Tbsp. oil. Roast tomatoes until tender and caramelized, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a medium pot over medium. Cook onion and 1/2 tsp. salt, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 8-10 minutes.
• Add roasted tomatoes and any accumulated juices, cream, and 1 1/4 cups water to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until flavors have melded, 20-25 minutes.
• Working in batches, transfer tomato mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
• Divide among bowls, then top with a drizzle of oil and freshly ground pepper.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add onions, celery and leek. Saute' until soft, about 8 minutes.
• Add chicken broth, sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and thyme.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove thyme stems; discard.
• Puree' soup in batches in a blender or use an immersion blender on low speed until desire texture is achieved.
• Return to pan and stir in milk, vinegar and pepper.
• Cook until heated through, about 6-10 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large pot, mix the tomato sauce, water, vegetable bouillon, bay leaf, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer at least 30 minutes.
• Stir in the celery, carrots, zucchini, and corn. Cover, and continue to simmer 30 minutes.
• Stir ditalini pasta into the pot, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.