Tomato Soup
I have a good friend who used to live in Brooklyn and a couple of years ago moved into Manhattan, we don’t get to see each other that often and I was so happy that we set a date to meet and decided we would catch up over lunch. I offered to cook and thought since it’s cold outside a bowl of soup would be good, she lives near Sullivan Street Bakery and said she would bring bread. The first thing I thought of was tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve made tomato soup before, posted it a few years ago, it was actually an accident that turned into soup. This one is intentional and it’s phenomenal. I got the recipe from food network and reading it I thought OMG, there is something wrong for example it called for 3/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup on the tomatoes and sauteeing the vegetables in 1/2 cup of olive oil, REALLY, don’t think so. Luckily the recipe from Michael Chiarrello had an accompanying video from his show. I followed what he said in the video and not what was written and the soup is awesome. I made a few changes adding some fresh tomatoes, rind of parmigiana but other than those two things I stuck to the recipe. The soup is delicious and quick and easy and I highly recommend. Who can resist dunking a gooey grilled cheese in tomato soup, it’s one of lifes great pleasures.
Homemade Tomato Soup
Makes 2-3 generous portions or 4 moderately sized portions
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes- juices drained and reserved
1 cup fresh tomatoes cut into pieces or if cherry or grape cut in half
1 stalk celery
1 small onion
1 carrot
1 1/2-2 cup (approximately) stock, chicken or vegetable or water
reserved juice from tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to drizzle on tomatoes and to cook the vegetables
small piece of parmigiano rind (optional)
fresh basil chopped (I used 3 large leaves)
1 tbs butter (optional)
heavy cream- I didn’t measure but if I had to guess it was a bit shy of 1/4 cup (optional)
Heat oven to 450 degree’s. Drain canned tomatoes and reserve the juice. Place on baking sheet along with fresh tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until caramelized – it took approximately 20 minutes
Heat some olive oil in heavy non reactive sauce pan or saucier. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until they start to soften and caramelize. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, stock or water, bay leaf, rind of parmigiano and cook approximate 25-30 minutes until vegetables are tender add the basil now. Remove bay leaf and you can use either your immersion blender or your blender and puree until smooth. Return to pan and add the optional butter and cream. Serve hot.
apuginthekitchen 
Oh my Yum!!! Happy Sunday to you.
Thanks so much Cheryl, Happy Sunday to you too!
Suzanne, I absolutely love tomato soup and grilled cheese! I have yet to make my own tomato soup, perhaps I should try this recipe as my first! It looks so dreamy good for a cold winter’s day.
Thank you so much Kathryn, me too love tomato soup. Takes me back to my childhood although it came out of can (Campbells) it was still delicious and loved with either grilled cheese or tuna sandwich. YUM.
Suzanne, I am going to make this either tomorrow night or on the weekend! All printed out and ready to have at it. 🙂
What a wonderful idea, Suzanne. I hope you and your friend have a lovely time, despite whatever the weather does. Thanks for sharing it here, and the photo too. It looks so delicious, and the setting so homey — the perfect comfort meal for a day like this. Mega hugs!
Thanks Teagan, it was such a lovely comforting meal. This cold weather just screams for this type of food.
I will definitely try this!
Thank you so much, it’s so simple and delicous.
Sounds amazing! I love a wonderful tomato soup this time of year… especially with grilled cheese. 🙂
Thank you so much Josette. It is great for this time of year when it’s cold and blustery.
I couldn’t agree more about a gooey grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Your recipe with the roasted tomatoes and veggies makes my mouth water on this gloomy day in the neighborhood. LOL. Yum! Thanks for sharing, Suzanne.
Hi Mary, I have to catch up with you and your handsome cowboys. I also need some new reading material. Thank you so much, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich are just about the best.
I had grilled cheese tonight but no tomato soup. 🙂 I have a new book coming out in this first quarter of this year. ❤
I do like my soup but I must admit I’m eye balling that grill cheese
I actually haven’t had one in a while
And when I do have a nice hot cheezy grilled sandwich I like a dollop of a spicy stone ground mustard on the side for dipping
Ooohhh never had with a spicy mustard or any mustard for that matter, must try. I love a good grilled cheese. Thank you so much.
This is such a flavorful tomato soup Suzanne!! I love a good tomato soup any day!!
Thank you so much Sonal, tomato soup is a favorite of mine I wish that I had good summer tomatoes to make it with.
Yum yum yum yum yum! Fills the belly and the heart. Xo
Thanks so much Jocelyn, the bread was so yummy!!
Tomato soup because it’s my favourite go to soup when I’m not well or feeling down. It’s the soup that brings the sunshine into the dull day.
xxx Massive Hugs Suzanne xxx
David I wish I could make you some🌞🌞🌞mega hugs my dear ❤
Thank you for your kindness Suzanne ❤ Hugs Galore xxx
❤❤
As I sit here in my chilly home in Chicago, I sure do wish I had a nice cup of this to warm me up! 🙂 I’ve never cooked with the rinds of parm – can you tell the difference? I’ve heard great things but for some reason have never tried it.
Ohhh Chicago is usually really cold. Nice hot soup is exactly what one needs there. Thank you so much. Yes you can really tell the difference I make a minestrone with parm rind and one time didn’t have but made the soup anyway, huge difference. I really adds such wonderful flavor.
This soup sounds amazing! I love a great tomato soup, and that bread looks amazing too! How fun that you got to share it with friends.
Hi Julie, thank you so much. The bread was awesome and made wonderful sandwiches.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich is a favorite of mine too. What a perfect meal to share with a friend and catch up! Roasting the tomatoes, bringing out their best flavor must have contributed to the taste of your fabulous soup.
Thank you Sandhya, it really is such a perfect meal. Something about the combination is so amazing.
The perfect winter soup.
Thank you so much Sharon, I have made this soup twice now and it’s just so good.
That looks so good! I love a little carrot in tomato soup!!!
Thanks Mimi, never thought of adding carrot before to tomato soup but it works and is really delicious,
OMG! that would have been a LOT of oil!!! your version looks much more inviting xx
I know right, 3/4 cup oil, there was almost as much oil as stock. The recipe is on the food network site also, wondering why they don’t check their recipes for typo’s or errors. Thank you so much and hope you are doing well.
That would be absolutely swimming with all that oil! I’m all for using lovely oils and adding good glugs of olive oil to dishes, but that would be just too much!!
All good here, I hope you’re okay xxx
Love the simplicity! Delicious and traditional
Thank you so much Stefan.
I am soooo in the mood for this right now after reading the recipe. I’m making it coming weekend. Thanks for the share Suzanne .
Thank you so much, I can’t believe how quick and easy this recipe is and it’s really delicious.
Yummy tomato soup. Love dipping grilled cheese toasties into tomato soup. Perfect for this time of year too.
It is such a great combination, almost nothing better. Thank you so much.
Looks delicious!
Thank you so much.
One of the best meals on earth, tomato soup with grilled cheese. Even a pedestrian version is delicious but one like you have made here elevates it to a higher level! I took my niece to brunch a few weeks back and she ordered the grilled cheese sandwich and a salad; they didn’t have tomato soup which, in my opinion is a necessity with grilled cheese! Happy to report that it was great anyways and my bloody Mary made for a (slightly pathetic) stand-in. Cheers Suzanne.
Hi Stacey hope you and Ginger and Buddy and the family are doing well. Thank you so much. Hey a bloody mary and grilled cheese sounds like a WONDERFUL combination to me, salad as well.
Yumm I have to try this soup!
Thank you so much Lynn!!
Hi Suzanne, this soup looks and sounds delicious, good thing you took the time to check out the video, otherwise it might have been a missed opportunity for a delicious recipe.
Hi Fida, thank you so much, yes the recipe as written was just plain wrong. It really is a delicious soup.
I love the idea of this soup! All roasted and caramelized. I was going to make it this afternoon and made a mistake. Somehow it ended up being chocolate chip cookies. Not sure how that happened, lol! I think I thought I had a tomato in the pantry and then didn’t but I saw that we had 3 containers of oatmeal and thought I’d make oatmeal cookies, then I remembered I didn’t have room temp butter, then I remembered I have a chocolate cookie recipe that uses melted butter, so now you see what you’ve done to my diet?!
Seriously, this is on my must make as soon as I get a tomato!! 🙂
Now that made me laugh, intention tomato soup, made chocolate chip cookies. LOL, you crack me up Mollie, hope all is well and that Chance is doing well also. Starting to get back on track with my food, still trying to maintain the low to no sugar but fell off the wagon during the holidays, Have a great weekend.
I think tomato soup and grilled cheese is one of my favorite all time comfort food combos. I have to try this, it looks so good! Also, that grilled cheese…I wish I could grab it from the picture 😉 Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much Antonia, have to agree, one of lifes great pleasures.
There’s nothing better than warm tomato soup on a cold day. YUM!
I think I will be making this soup almost weekly for the rest of the winter. Thank you so much Sarah.
This sounds like a wonderful soup-and grilled cheese with tomato soup makes such a great meal on a cold day!
Thanks so much Nancy hope you have a great weekend.
Sign me up for a few bowls of THIS!
Thank you so much!!
This sounds wonderful. I like the addition of carrot. I’ll have to try it soon. 🙂
The carrots are a great addition, never thought to add them before and I really thought this was a great recipe. Thank you so much.
Hey Suzanne– this sounds like the your Italian version of his soup!! It’s chilly in the house this evening and I wish we had a pot of your soup for dinner!! Glad you got to catch up with your friend– isn’t that the best??! take care. xox
It does have an Italian flare the basil does it!! Thank you Rhonda stay warm!!
Hey Suzanne– I am staying warm tonight–tucked under a blanket on the couch! Hope you’re rolling into a good weekend. Any plans??
Getting ready to go do some shopping, it’s really cold out, in the 20’s but walking gets the blood circulating. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Haha yes lucky you didn’t literally follow the quantities of the ingredients! I love a good tomato soup and I think it would be wise to make one before winter ends, right? xx
Thank you so much Sofia, hope you are well!!
I’m ok, in a moment of change in my life. I hope you are well too!
Do you know, I love tomato soup the few times I’ve had it, but have never made it!! Oh, and Sullivan Street Bakery! What a great place! My friend went there and had Jim Lahey send me a video message!! It was so awesome. Hopefully I’ll remember to make tomato soup soon! Yours sounds very tasty!
Thank you so much Christina, I love Sullivan Street Bakery, they have the best bread.
This sounds amazing! Thanks for the share, hope to let you know how it turns out!
Thank you so much!
I have been meaning to get back and tell you that i made this tomato soup (I ran out to get tomatoes for the recipe!) and I loved it! The folks, especially my Dad, was very impressed both with the soup and with the fact that I actually made it. I did use tarragon for my herb of choice, though! 🙂
Thanks Suzanne for another winner of a recipe!
Thanks Mollie, would love to try this with tarragon, thank you so much for giving this a try.