Tomato Soup

Whenever we had tomato soup growing up, it did not come out of a can but a mason jar. At the end of summer, right when the garden started producing the most tomatoes, Grandma would start canning tomato soup. Instead of taking a whole day to can everything she could, Grandma would do one batch at a time- which was only a few jars a day. By the time the first frost came around, Grandma's basement pantry would be full of pint sized jars filled with deliciously smooth real soup, layered with flavor. There is still nothing like it. I no longer live right next to my Grandparents. I occasionally crave her homemade soup so badly that I almost jump in the car and drive the 6 hours immediately. And no matter what, I refuse to eat tomato soup from a can.

So I decided to come up with a remedy for my tomato soup cravings- my own homemade tomato soup. In my mind, I called it "semi homemade" because even though it is not directly from a can, several of the ingredient are, which makes it simple, but it's still not Grandma's. I was very happy with how this soup turned out. It is simple to make, and really has a lot of flavor. I used an immersion blender to make the soup smooth, but if you don't have one, you can use a food processor or leave tomato chunks. In that case, you might want to use diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes. Grandpa always added a little Tabasco sauce to his soup, and the red pepper flakes added a nice subtle spiciness to the soup, which you can certainly leave out if you like. And of course, nothing complements tomato soup like grilled cheese sandwiches!

Tomato Soup
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flake (optional)
salt and black ground pepper
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cream or half and half

While heating a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and the oil. When the butter has melted, add the onion and the garlic to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions are beginning to soften.

Add the tomato paste, the stewed tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Stir the ingredients together and add the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes so that all of the ingredients have a chance to blend together.

After the soup has cooked, use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the soup and make it smooth. Reheat the soup on medium low. Add the 1 tbsp butter and the cream. When the soup is heated through, serve garnished with shredded cheese or basil.