#header-inner {background-position: center !important; width: 100% !important;}

Monday, October 5, 2009

Chunky Tomato Soup



Both tomatoes and peppers were ridiculously cheap last week, so I picked up several packages of each with this soup in mind. I'd seen this recipe on AllRecipes.com and thought it sounded more interesting than the typical plain tomato soup. I made some changes to the original recipe (namely the addition of spinach and more peppers), so click the link if you're interested in seeing a slightly different version.

When I told Ryan that tomato soup was on the menu for the week, he informed me that he isn't a big fan of tomato soup. However, I think I changed his mind with this recipe! The other vegetables in this soup made this very different than the usual creamy tomato soup. The only thing Ryan wasn't crazy about was the strong taste of cloves. I, on the other hand, really liked this addition. It's up to you whether or not you want to include them, I think the soup would be good either way!

Tomato Soup
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3/4 teaspoon butter, divided
8 tomatoes, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2-3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:
1. Place the bell peppers in a large pot with 1/4 teaspoon butter and cook, stirring constantly, until peppers are slightly charred.
2. Mix in tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chicken broth. Season with salt, sugar, cloves, oregano, and basil. Add spinach and stir until wilted.
3. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes, until tomatoes are soft.
4. Mix the milk and cornstarch in a small saucepan and stir until smooth. Place saucepan over medium heat and stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter.
5. Continue to cook and stir until thickened. Mix into the pot with the vegetables.
6. Strain about 1/2 the vegetables from the soup and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth, and return to the pot.
7. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

The spinach gave this tomato soup a somewhat funky color, as you can tell from the pictures! Still delicious though!