Project NYT: Tomato Soup I

For the past six months, Jared and I have been in search of a delicious homemade tomato soup. It sounds simple enough, right? Beyond the tomatoes, milk, salt and pepper, it didn’t seem like there could be much to the basic recipe. Of course, I’d spent at least a decade making tomato soup from a can, courtesy of my good pal Campbell, so I suppose my concept was a little skewed.

As it turns out, finding the perfect tomato soup recipe is no walk in the park. And that’s not for lack of trying. For my first attempt, I used a recipe that called for a base of two large onions, sautéed in butter. It sounded like a lot, so I chose yellow onions in hopes of keeping the flavor manageably mellow. No such luck. Even after adding the tomatoes, garlic, chicken stock and spices, this soup was full-on onion city. Like please-don’t-breathe-within-10-feet-of-me onion-y. The flavor was actually pretty good. But that onion… Ooph.

With onion memories still lingering, I’ve been on the lookout for a non-onion recipe to try. Lo and behold, my trusty New York Times Essential Cookbook had just what I was looking for. All the tomato with none of the onion. Grooves.

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Tomato Soup I
Adapted from New York Times Essential Cookbook (Amanda Hesser, p. 106)

• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
• 4 ½ cups whole milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely ground saltine crackers

Place tomatoes in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cover, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until tomatoes are soft and broken down. (Here, the recipe says to run tomatoes through the fine plate of a food mill. I skipped this step for lack of food mill, but it’s a good idea to use one if you have it to remove seeds.) Measure 4 cups stewed tomatoes.

In the meantime, scald the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat when bubbles form around edges of pan and milk starts to steam.

Put butter and salt in a large pot or serving bowl. Add ground crackers. Pour in hot milk, then tomatoes. Stir. If using an immersion blender (niftiest little gizmo around), blend soup until it reaches desired texture.

Serve with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich. We’ve been using our panini press, good sourdough bread, a dot of butter and Tillamook sharp cheddar for a zing of extra flavor (an Ella-approved combo; yes, this is the sandwich that furry rascal swiped from my plate).

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The verdict? As promised, this tomato soup recipe delivered an über creamy, crazy rich tomato soup that worked really well as the dipping source for the grilled cheese sandwiches we paired it with. All by its lonesome, however, it was a little too rich for my taste. The whole milk should have tipped me off (I was minutes away from substituting it for a lower percentage but decided to stick to the original recipe). Still, the flavor was really nice. And if you’re a rich-and-creamy fan when it comes to soups, this one should be right up your alley. Inevitably affected by my childhood love of the Campbell’s stuff, I’m looking for something a little lighter and more tomato-y than this version was. Although, from a texture and simplicity perspective, this one was right on the money.

So it wasn’t a rousing success, but it certainly wasn’t an epic failure. As far as I see it, we’re just one soup closer to finding the perfect recipe. For a food whose mass appeal lies in its classic taste and simplicity, finding one to suit your tastes is easier said than done. Even the NYT cookbook has three variations. Tomato soup I down; tomato soups II and III to go.

Do you have a favorite tomato soup recipe? What about the pre-made stuff? Is Campbell’s your ticket to tomato bliss, or does another brand bowl you over? Do tell!

XO,
Katrina