Recipes on teh Google...YMMV.

[badgerpup]

Friend of mine had some dental work done and the only thing that sounded good to her was tomato soup.
Made sense to me...when I had my wisdom teeth out back in (mumble mumble) that was the only thing I really wanted. It had to be TOMATO...no 'cream of ________'; wasn't the texture I was interested in, but the tomato-y goodness.
Anyway...

Having become something of a soup snob, NO WAY was I going to show up on her doorstep with a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup, so I typed in "tomato soup" and got about a bazillion hits.
:wow:...didn't realize there were so many variations!
Figured "OK, she's just had a toof out, so she's not going to want something really fancy/subtle/hot/spicy. Comfort food. Keep it simple...", so I went with this one:

Tomato Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
4 tomatoes, chopped or 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crumbled
3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot and saute the onion, celery, and carrots until vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and basil. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened.
Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and carefully blend until smooth.
(Caution! Hot liquids create steam which will blow the top off the blender! Be sure to securely hold blender lid down!)
Return pureed mixture to cooking pot and combine with the stock. Simmer, uncovered, until soup is reduced to the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

OK...looks pretty easy, and glory be, I've got most of the stuff on hand...including some excellent homemade chicken stock. :woohoo:
Oh wait...all I've got is a 28 oz can of tomatoes. No problem, just double the other stuff...chicken stock doesn't come to 6 cups, but I'd cooked it down to a really firm jelly-like consistency (so's it would all fit into the storage container :P ), so it should suffice.

Smells rich and homey, the mire poix (onions, carrots and celery) simmering in olive oil...
OK, got everything translucent- into the blender with it, along with the canned tomatoes.
WHIRRRRRRRRR....Hmmm. This doesn't look real tomato-y; more orange than red.
Taste- pleasant, 'comfortable', has that full-mouth richness, but needs more cowbell tomato.
Luckily, I've got another 28 oz can of tomatoes on hand...quick trip through the blender and add to the soup.
Glorp the chicken stock (LOTS firmer than jello- I really cooked it down) into the mixture and simmer...and my house is starting to smell pretty good right about now.
NOW it tastes like TOMATO soup...and a very nice one at that.

Parmesan cheese on top with ciabatta rolls for dipping = :9

The bread got really soft once dipped, so wasn't a problem for chewing. ;)

Going to keep this recipe, but note that it needs a LOT more tomatoes than called for. Otherwise you get a thick, rich vegetable soup with no one flavor really dominating...which kind of misses the point if you wanted TOMATO soup, right? :hi:

[pengillian101]

1. Sounds good to me!

It's fun tweaking a recipe. And it sure sounds delish! Improvising is what makes new recipes, I'm sure of it. I'm going to try it. Thanks for posting.

I bet your friend really enjoyed your effort and your soup. :hi:

[grasswire]

2. ha! cowbell!

That line cracks me up every time.

[sandnsea]

3. 4Bs Tomato Soup

This is a cream soup, but it is the best tomato soup with big chunks of tomato and just yum yummy goodness!

http://www.twhgrafx.com/recipes/archives/000681.html