Smitten Kitchen’s Weeknight Tomato Soup

Deb Perelman, founder of the award-winning blog Smitten Kitchen, loves this recipe because you can make it using cherry or grape tomatoes purchased at the grocery store—even off-season ones. “They’ll provide more flavor and nuance than canned tomatoes, and the proof will be in the bowl,” she says. “And sweetness! Cream of tomato soup recipes add a little sugar, but I find that store-bought grape tomatoes provide enough without it.”

Everything else is about simply layering in flavor, Deb explains—onions cooked in butter until sweet and lightly browned at the edges, garlic, red pepper flakes, a splash of sherry if you like and vegetable or chicken broth. While the soup simmers for 15 minutes, you can make a grilled cheese, such as Deb’s Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Her soup recipe calls for adding cream, but this is optional. “The texture is so velvety and smooth from the tomato and sweet onions, you might find you don’t need or want it at all,” Deb adds.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
  • 2 medium white onions, diced (about 2 1/2 cups) (10 oz./315 g)
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 4 Tbs. tomato paste
  • 1 Tbs. sherry (optional)
  • 1 1/4 lb. (565 g) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (from two 10-oz./315-g packages)
  • 3 cups (24 fl. oz./710 ml) vegetable or chicken broth
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) heavy cream, or more to taste (optional)
  • 1 to 2 tsp. sherry vinegar (optional)

Directions:

In a 3- to 4-quart (3- to 4-l) saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they are tender and beginning to brown at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook, mashing them slightly with your spoon, for 3 minutes, then add the broth and season to taste—start with 1 tsp. salt, many grindings of black pepper and a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the pan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. If you are making grilled cheese sandwiches, this is a great time to prepare them.

Using an immersion blender or a full-sized blender, carefully blend the hot soup until totally smooth (an immersion blender might miss some tomato skins, so go around the pan a few extra times). Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. If you’d like the soup to be creamy, add the cream a splash at a time, stirring, until you reach the desired level. Finally, you can add 1 tsp. vinegar for a little brightness at the end, and a second teaspoon if it needs more.

Ladle the soup into bowls or mugs and finish with a little black pepper. Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe courtesy of Deb Perelman, cookbook author and founder of Smitten Kitchen