The original recipe is from Serious Eats. A wonderfully comforting soup that gets its body from long, slow simmering rather than flour or roux.
Ingredients #
- 4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 4 large carrots (about 1 pound), diced
- 2 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound), diced
- 3 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, crushed roughly by hand
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (optional, see notes)
- 8 ounces heavy cream (1 cup)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste
- 1/2 ounce fresh basil leaves (about 1 loosely packed cup), cut into chiffonade
Instructions #
Cook vegetables and simmer: In a 6-quart stainless steel pot, melt butter over medium heat until foaming, then add carrots and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter starts to brown on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, followed by chicken stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until quite thick, about 1 1/2 hours. Adjust heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
Blend and finish: Taste broth; if its flavor is too sharp or acidic, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and stir well (it will foam at first). Taste and repeat if needed. Purée soup with an immersion blender until smooth, or cool until no longer steaming before puréeing in a countertop blender. Stir in cream, then season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Rewarm to serve.
Serve: Stir in basil chiffonade just before serving.
Notes #
Storage: In a sealed nonreactive container, keeps up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.
Tips: The vegetable sizes are a guide, not a rule — the recipe works well give or take a few ounces either way. If using a countertop blender, make sure the soup has cooled enough that it’s no longer steaming before blending.
Recipe URL: https://bitsby.me/recipes/thick-and-creamy-tomato-soup/