weeknight tomato soup
While this is not the Smitten Kitchen’s only tomato soup — there’s one with roasted summer tomatoes capped with an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich in the archives, and further back, a classic cream of tomato soup adapted from Cook’s Illustrated — neither are this: a seasonless tomato soup I can make on any rainy day, along with the nonnegotaible grilled cheese sandwiches, in under an hour. Both of the archived recipes have their charms; the first is great when tomatoes are at their peak. The second is excellent but fussy, more ideal for when you’ve got the time or patience to show off. But this has eclipsed both in the rotation for the last couple winters, and a few things make it perfect for us:
– Yes, grocery store tomatoes: If you, like me, buy cherry or grape tomatoes far more often than you use them up, this soup is for you. No, I don’t mean glorious, peak-season cherry tomatoes from a garden or farm stand on a hot summer day; save those for snacking or a salad. I truly mean even the highly mediocre ones you might find on sale at a chain store in the dead of winter. This soup makes the argument that even bland, off-season cherry and grape tomatoes will provide more flavor and nuance than canned tomatoes and the proof will be in the bowl. And sweetness! Cream of tomato soup recipes add a little sugar, but I find that storebought grape tomatoes provide enough without it.
– A simple base: Everything else is about simply layering in flavor — onions cooked in butter until sweet and lightly browned at the edges, garlic, pepper flakes to taste, a splash of sherry if that’s your thing, tomato paste, and any kind of broth you want to use, vegetable or chicken. It simmers for 15 minutes (this is when you make the grilled cheese sandwiches) and blends smooth.
– Cream-optional: This was intended to be a cream of tomato soup, and you can, if you’d like, add cream at the end to taste. But the texture is so velvety and smooth from the tomato and sweet onions, you might find you don’t need or want it at all.
– Riffable: This isn’t just my new weeknight tomato soup, it’s a foundation I’ve used for a lot of tweaked leftovers. Sometimes, I’ll add cooked lentils (Trader Joe’s remain my fridge staple), but even some tortellini, and a handful of spinach wilted in, plus a little parmesan on top work nicely too. And it works as well with the French onion soup-style grilled cheese on top as the roasted tomato soup does.
Podcast! My new podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, launched this past week and our first episode is all about Stovetop Mac-and-Cheese! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts and I’ve set up a new podcast tab/page where you can keep up on it here, too. We will have new episodes every two Mondays and this tomato soup will feature prominently in Episode 4! We’ve been working on this behind the scenes for the last year — I hope you enjoy listening along.
Previously
6 months ago: Raspberry Streusel Muffins
1 year ago: Easy Freezer Waffles
2 years ago: Castle Breakfast
3 year ago: Rigatoni alla Vodka
4 year ago: Perfect Vegetable Lasagna
5 year ago: Bodega-Style Egg and Cheese Sandwich and Chocolate Puddle Cakes
6 years ago: Slow-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Korean-Braised Short Ribs
7 years ago: Small-Batch Tiramisu
8 years ago: Miso Black Sesame Caramel Corn and Hot and Sour Soup
9 years ago: Oven-Braised Beef with Tomatoes and Garlic and Pecan Sticky Buns
10 years ago: Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Hearts and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
11 years ago: Italian Stuffed Cabbage
12 years ago: Lasagna Bolognese
13 years ago: Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake
14 years ago: Best Cocoa Brownies and Chana Masala
15 years ago: Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes and Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw
16 years ago: Seven-Yolk Pasta Dough and Best Chocolate Pudding
17 years ago: For Beaming, Bewitching Breads
Weeknight Tomato Soup
- 3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 medium white onions, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sherry (optional)
- 1 1/4 pounds (565 grams) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (from 2 10-oz packages)
- Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes
- 3 cups (710 ml) vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 to 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 ml) sherry vinegar to finish (optional)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream, or more to taste
Make the soup: In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat, then add onions. Cook, stirring, until onions are tender and beginning to brown at edges, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add sherry, if using, and cook for 1 minute, then tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes, mashing them slightly with your spoon, for 3 minutes, then add broth and seasoning to taste — I usually start with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, many grinds of black pepper, and a couple pinches of pepper flakes. Bring mixture to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook at a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes; this is a great time to prepare grilled cheese sandwiches (see below) if you’re making them.
To finish: Either with an immersion blender or in a full-sized blender, blend the hot soup carefully until totally smooth — my immersion blender often misses some tomato skins, so go around the pot a few extra times. Taste, adjust seasoning as needed. If you’d like the soup to be creamy, add it a splash at a time, stirring, until you reach your desired level. Finally, you can add 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar for a little brightness at the end, and a second teaspoon if it needs more.
To serve: Ladle into bowls or mugs, finish with a little freshly ground black pepper, and surround with grilled cheese “fingers” (below) for dipping.
To make grilled cheese fingers: [For one sandwich] Spread the outside of two slices of sandwich bread with either softened butter or a thin (a little goes a long way) layer of mayonnaise. Fill with the cheese of your choice. I like to use one slice of American cheese (for meltiness) and some sharp grated cheddar (for flavor). Place in a cold heavy skillet and turn heat to a medium-low. Cook slowly until the underside is a deep even golden brown. Flip the sandwich over and cook on the second side until it matches the first side. Cut into strips.
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