Description
Crafting this hearty tomato soup elevates comfort cuisine with rich, Mediterranean-inspired flavors. Fresh ingredients and simple techniques help home cooks create a classic dish you’ll savor with crusty bread and pure satisfaction.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegetables:
- 2 lbs (907 grams) ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Liquids and Fats:
- 2 cups (473 milliliters) vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) olive oil
Seasonings and Extras:
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) sugar
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in a spacious pot over medium-high temperature, gently sautéing onions until they become translucent and tender.
- Introduce minced garlic and continue cooking for 60 seconds, releasing its aromatic essence while preventing burning.
- Incorporate rich tomato paste, creating a deep foundational flavor for the soup.
- Add vibrant chopped tomatoes, balancing with a touch of sugar, and season generously with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
- Stream vegetable broth into the pot, elevating the mixture to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Allow the soup to develop its complex flavors, stirring intermittently for approximately 20 minutes until ingredients meld harmoniously.
- Transform the soup’s texture using an immersion blender, creating a silky-smooth consistency by pureeing until no visible chunks remain.
- Taste and fine-tune seasonings, allowing the soup to settle and intensify for an additional 5 minutes.
- Ladle into warm serving bowls and crown with delicate, freshly torn basil leaves as a fragrant finishing touch.
Notes
- Swap vegetable broth with chicken or bone broth for deeper flavor complexity if preferred.
- Add a splash of heavy cream or coconut milk at the end for a richer, creamier texture that softens the tomato’s acidity.
- Roast tomatoes beforehand to intensify their natural sweetness and develop a more concentrated, caramelized taste profile.
- Customize the soup’s consistency by adjusting liquid amounts – less broth creates a thicker soup, while more creates a lighter, more broth-like version.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 70 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg