Homemade(ish) Tomato Soup

Today was a rainy old day here in (usually) Sunny So-Cal, and I knew we had a busy evening ahead, as it was a "parent observation night" at the dance studio, so I decided I needed a quick, hot, hearty meal. I immediately thought of grilled cheese and tomato soup. The thing is, I just didn't want canned tomato soup. It would have been easy, but, when I picked it up and read the ingredients, I just thought to myself, "Hey, I coud do that ~ without high fructose corn syrup and with less salt."

Now, I knew the real (and probably healthiest and best) way to make tomato soup would be to start with fresh tomatoes, but I had a PTA meeting in the morning, then some business to be taken care of, then a kid was sent home sick, and then there was that dance class... At first, I thought I was going to have to resign myself to canned soup, but I really didn't want to eat it. Then, I checked the ingredients on a can of crushed tomatoes: tomatoes, tomato juice and citric acid. I decided I could live with that. I mean, I recognized all of those ingredients, so I figured it would be okay. I just kind of worked out the recipe as I went along, basing it on what we were used to. It really wasn't difficult at all. I made a big batch, but I am guessing it could easily be halved. Frankly, I am looking forward to leftovers. So, maybe it's not as "homemade" as it would be, if I had peeled and seeded all of those tomatoes, but I found it to be better tasting than that famous tomato soup, and I felt better about feeding it to my family. They, BTW, were impressed. Even the finicky one gobbled it up (with noodles).

Homemade(ish) Tomato Soup

2 TBS butter or margarine
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried basil (or more, to taste)
water*
salt to taste
2 TBS flour
1-2 TBS sugar or honey


In a large saucepot, heat butter or margarine over low heat. Add diced onion and stir to coat. Sprinkle with a touch of salt. Cook, stirring often, over low heat, until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes + one can of water and stir well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add basil, sugar and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for approx. 20 minutes, or until onions are very soft. Turn off heat, and let cool for a few minutes. In a cup, mix the flour with approximately 2-3 TBS of water, adding the water a bit at a time and using a fork to beat until mixture is smooth. Whisk flour mixture into soup. Transfer to a blender and blend** in batches until smooth, transferring to a crockpot or another large saucepot as each batch is finished. Add water to achieve desired consistency. Taste, and adjust seasonings. If cooking on the stovetop, simmer for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If using a crockpot, turn heat to low, cover and let cook at least 1 hour. Always taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

You can keep this on low in the crockpot for hours, which is one of the many reasons I love it. I can put it in the crockpot, rinse out the blender and the saucepot, take kids to dance class and come home to a nice, hot meal.

*If you like creamy tomato soup, you can use milk (or a milk substitute, I suppose) to replace some or all of the water in this recipe.

**If your family doesn't mind chunky tomato soup, you don't have to blend it, but, if you are trying to achieve a smooth soup that is similar in texture to the canned soup familiar to so many of us, blending is essential.

Granted, just tomato soup does not a meal make. Kaia added noodles to hers (whole wheat animal shaped noodles, to be precise), and washed it down with green juice. The rest of us enjoyed variations of grilled cheese with our soup. Hallie had grilled American and tomato on wheat, Justice had grilled cheddar and vegetarian bacon (also on wheat). I think Shane went with a fairly standard grilled cheese. I added soy turkey, veggie bacon, and a slice of tomato to mine (soy cheese for me, so, yeah, it was soy extravaganza, but I thoroughly enjoyed it).

I was thinking this soup would be great with homemade noodles, or with hot, freshly baked biscuits or a loaf of beer bread, too. I had enough left over to fill a good-sized jar, so we'll probably get to put at least one of those notions to the test in the next day or so.

Seriously, this recipe is so easy, it's worth a try. If you make the full recipe, you'll probably have some left to freeze, so you get a quick meal for the future, too. At the very least, it'll warm you up on a chilly day.