Monday, April 16, 2018

Recipe Notes: Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

24 March 2018

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated All Time Best Soups, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 123; also available online


I tried another soup recipe from the book I received recently as a gift. I recall making tomato soup like this but all I could find in my blog were notes about making a creamy, rather than creamless, tomato soup. I have no reason to avoid cream but in the spirit of trying new things I made this creamless (indeed, dairy free) tomato soup. When you try new things you sometimes find something very good.


The soup was very easy to make. Onion, garlic, and a bay leaf were cooked in extra virgin olive oil. (I omitted the optional red pepper flakes.) Canned whole tomatoes were added and mashed. Three slices of white bread, crusts removed and cut into 2" pieces, were added as a thickener, along with some brown sugar. The mixture was cooked until the bread started to break down. The bay leaf was removed and the soup was puréed in a blender in two batches. Chicken broth and brandy (optional) were added and the soup was brought to a boil, seasoned, and served. From start to finish it took 45 minutes to make a lot of tomato soup.


The finished product was good. It had a nice texture, good tomato flavor, and it kept well for leftovers. It also had a fruity taste, perhaps from the brandy, that I did not enjoy. I thought this detracted from the tomato flavor and I would omit the brandy if I were to make this soup again, or I would make the creamy tomato soup recipe that includes cream.

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