To me, there is nothing better than a fresh tomato, eaten simply with a little sprinkle of salt. But sometimes, you have dozens of tomatoes sitting on the counter, begging to be used. What better way to use some of them up than by making fresh tomato soup? Ditch the canned stuff – this tastes much better!
Creamy Tomato Soup
serves 4 as a side
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, skin and seeds removed, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup half-and-half
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender, working in batches if needed, and puree. Return to the pan and add the half-and-half. Heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
This looks so amazing and sounds pretty easy too. I guess I always thought there was more work that went into making something like this other than the taking seeds and skin off. I can’t wait to try this in the Fall!
We made this tonight–awesome!! I added chopped fresh basil. Also, we sprinkled orzo pasta on top to emulate the restaurant version.
I just tried this recipe, and two pounds of chopped, peeled, and seedless tomato is a LOT more than I thought it would be! I used about two and a half dozen (small, from my friend’s garden) tomatoes.
The serving sizes were also a lot smaller than I thought, especially considering all the tomatoes I used–the recipe isn’t kidding when it says it’s a “side”–not a main dish.
This soup is also very thick–it has the consistency of marinara sauce. And since I accidently added too much garlic, it also tasted like marinara sauce. Granted, it was some of the best-tasting marinara sauce I’ve ever had. I had fresh french bread, and I used the soup as dipping sauce.
If I ever have way too many tomatoes to deal with, this will definitely be a make-again, but next time, with much less garlic.