Homemade Sweet and Creamy Tomato Soup

Good Monday Morning everybody! I hope this post finds you having had a wonderful weekend, Nick and I sure had the time of our lives! I would share with you our fun adventures, but special moments and events with amazing people sometimes are best kept and enjoyed privately!

Last week I brought to you two wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches, both of which stood strong on their own, but growing up both grilled cheese AND tomato soup were staple foods that had to be paired together. Obviously, I could not miss an opportunity to make tomato soup. So, last week I paired the chicken, bacon and cheddar grilled cheese sandwich with a homemade creamy and sweet tomato soup. The soup was marvelous and I cannot wait to make it again, but with real tomatoes this time. I didn t have enough luck finding tomatoes that were good enough for this soup so I went with a canned tomato, which worked fine!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1 (28 ounce) can chopped or diced tomatoes
• cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• teaspoon garlic powder and parsley
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup, gluten free, chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons basil leaves
• About 1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

• Thoroughly strain the canned tomatoes, reserving the juices and then spread the tomatoes onto a slightly greased baking sheet.
• Salt with salt, pepper and some of the sugar
• Drizzle cup olive oil over the tomatoes and roast until carmelized, about 15 minutes

• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium low heat
• Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 15 minutes
• Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaves, butter, sugar, cayenne pepper and garlic powder and parsley
• Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes
• Remove bay leaves
• Add cream and puree with hand held immersion blender until it is at your desired smoothness

This recipe is so easy and it does not hurt that the tomato soup is incredible! Nick and I like food on the spicy side, so usually are soups have a bit of a spicy kick. I decided to go the exact opposite way with this soup. As you noticed I added sugar to the mix. I did that for a couple of reasons I wanted the sugar to quell the potential of a potent acidity from the canned tomatoes and juice. Also I did not want the harsh spices to take control of the dish. I really wanted to enjoy the taste of a sweeter soup mixed with the hearty nature of our chicken, bacon and cheddar sandwich! This combination was absolutely divine; dipping the sandwich into the tomato soup was a perfect match of flavors!

The other awesome part about this soup is that it is gluten free. How awesome is that?! All of my friends out there that want the perfect tomato soup, give this recipe a try!!!

I hope you all give this easy recipe a try soon!

Until Next Time,

Happy Tomato Soup Makin !

Comments

[grammycurry]

This sounds like another winner that I will have to try. I'm not the spicy type but have always added sugar to my tomato soup also.You are so right,it does give the soup a nice sweetness and cuts down on the acidity.Keep the recipes coming I'm an avid follower.

[Eftychia]

Delicious soup and you are right, it sounds very easy to make. Thanks for sharing!

[Cooking With Mel]

You're welcome!! It is very, very easy to make. If you ever give it a try, let me know. I've got a facebook page and I'm sure some of my followers would love to read about how the recipe turned out! You can find me here: http://www.facebook.com/CookingWithMel
Thanks for posting a comment!! :-D

[Jessica]

Love tomato soup, this looks great! Jessica @ http://cajunlicious.com