Tammy's Summer Tomato Soup

 

While traveling in Europe, my husband raved about a bowl of tomato soup in a lovely outdoor cafe in Germany. In our quest to find a great broth-based tomato soup we combined several recipes and made a few batches of tomato soup this week (a great way to get over jet lag, by the way), until we loved the results. Side note: tomato soup is low on my list of favorite soups, but this is just wonderful. Enjoy!

Tammy's Summer Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen)
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
• 4 cups organic chicken broth (Swanson organic chicken broth in vacuum package)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili paste (this is very strong stuff, try ½ at first)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh spearmint leaves chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

The Play-by-Play

1. Slice celery, onions, carrots, garlic in small pieces (smaller than a dice)
2. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven type pot over medium high heat and saute the celery, carrots, onion and garlic for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly until tender.
3. Remove veggies from pot and puree in a food processor.
4. Return veggies to pot and stir in remainder of ingredients (except lime) and bring mixure back to a simmer over medium high heat
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
7. Serve in bowls with a sprig of fresh mint on top, accompanied by a fresh baguette or sourdough rolls.

Please let me know what you think, especially any ingredients you adjust and the results. What have you tried while on vacation and brought into your regular cooking repetoire?