Friday, December 19, 2008

Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes


I don't know if it's Campbell's tomato soup has changed or if my taste has changed. But,is seems as if the Campbell's tomato soup is a whole lot sweeter then it used to be. It also tastes a whole lot like corn syrup. I've mused over the idea of making soup from canned tomatoes for a few years. Then I came across this post with general instructions. I had to give it a try. This is the recipe I came up with.
See also my recipe for tomato soup from fresh tomatoes.

Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS
oil to saute
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 14.5 oz cans tomatoes
1 15 oz can vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
2 c milk

In a dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium high heat until soft. Add tomatoes, broth, salt and honey. Simmer 45 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add milk. Heat until warm. Serve. You can freeze leftovers.

14 comments:

campbellgirl said...

I saw that post too! I thought it looked delicious, just as yours does. I'll have to try it out when the weather turns cold again, right now we have fresh tomatoes to work with. I'll check out your other recipe for fresh toms.

You have a lovely blog; many thanks for sharing with us. Meri Kirihimete!

Lora said...

I'm so glad you like my blog. As a blogger told me once, I still can't believe people who aren't my mom read my blog. Merry Christmas to you too.

Anonymous said...

I have a pot on the stove right now. =) Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Anonymous said...

Just made this tonight(with canned tomatoes already pureed) Very good. Honey is interesting and I'm curious about what it would taste like if I left it out.

Lora said...

Feel free to substitute another sweetener (like sugar) for the honey. The small amount of honey is to counteract the acidity in the tomatoes. IMHO if you leave it out the soup is slightly less complex. That said, the soup would still be just fine. You can always make a pot without and taste. You can add the honey later if you think the soup needs it.

Anonymous said...

I know this is an older blog post, but I've been looking for an easy homemade tomato soup recipe for ages, particularly using canned tomatoes, which I always have on hand. I had to adapt this a little for my low-carb preferences and since I didn't have veggie stock, but it already seems lovely! It may well become a staple in my kitchen. Thank you so much!

HomemadeMother said...

I followed your recipe, but I did not add the milk or salt. I shook in some crushed red pepper flakes to add a little kick. Yummy!

Kaye said...

I made this tomato soup for dinner tonight. Had it with grilled cheese and boy was it good. Jim said he liked it a LOT better than Campbells :-)
Don't laugh..I made a mistake, I tossed in a couple of bay leaves and forgot them and was blending away with the stick blender when one of them surfaced! I nabbed it out, but by that time the other one was well "blended" LOL It was really good anyway.

I have a question. Do you think you could safely make this up when tomatoes are fresh and can it in the water bath canner??

Thanks for the recipe. We're having it tomorrow night too, Expecting our first freeze of the season and hot soup will be good.

Lora said...

I'm glad you liked it Kaye1944. I too have immersion blended a bay leaf. I hate it when that happens.
You might be interested in my fresh tomato soup recipe.
http://lorasrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/02/reviews-for-this-soup-have-varied-from.html
It is a similar recipe with unadulterated tomato flavor, but gives you that fresh tomato taste.
I usually freeze both of these soups. I don't know much about canning. I do know that canning tomatoes is tricky. You have to get the right acid balance or end up with botchulism and other woes. A.K.A. Norwegian roulette. :)

Unknown said...

Tried this recipe out this evening! Soooo yummy! I don't know that I'll ever be able to go back to Tomato soup from a can! ;)

Anonymous said...

I had often wondered if one could make tomato soup with tinned tomatoes so did a google search and found your recipe! Absolutely delicious. I did not add milk but added some dried italian herbs and some tomato/garlic and spices puree. Once you make your own soup you certainly do not want to go back to Campbells, Heinz or Baxter's!

Anonymous said...

This recipe looks great. My daughter is a huge fan of my home made tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes but it is an expensive option when tomatoes are not in season, so it's great to know I can make it using tinned tomatoes too. I'll be making it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing! :)

Janine

Patrick said...

Well I am in NY, broke and starving, but I miraculously have the ingredients for your soup. Now I have no idea what a dutch oven is, but a buddy of mine is dutch and he is a jerk, so I am just going to use a pot. I also noticed that you left beer out of your list. I will ignore that oversight and leave it to you to update the recipe.

Now, I can't puree anything, so I am going to cut the onion and garlic as fine as possible and then resort to some form of smashing technique later on once I add the tomatoes. The brain is working on this problem so lets see what happens.

Oh god, I can barely see. My eyes are burning so much. There is so much onion! What size of onion was I supposed to use? Ok, let me try and cut this garlic up.

... I cant see. Tearrs are poring out of my eyes andi can't see. The galric is halfwy done, but i need a break. Thank god for the bud light. I can wash some of this acid out of my eyes.

I put a bowl on top of the onions and I was then able to finish the garlic chopping. I chopped the actual crap out of it and it is almost a mush. Perfect I think. I put a dollop of oil in the pot and I am getting it heated up. You didn't say how much oil to use, and I don't really know what a dollop is, so I kind of feel like you are leaving me to make up half of this process as I go along. Lets see how it turns out.

I sauteed the onions and garlic until they were clear, and then added the tomatoes. I noticed that half of my canned tomatoes were "fire roasted". I don't know what in the hell that means but it probably means my soup is going to taste like I pureed a piece of damn charcoal into it. Nothing to be done about it so lets continue.

I wasn't able to find any honey, probably because I am so manly I wouldn't allow that crap in my house (read shitty apartment in Brooklyn than I share with other losers), but there was plenty of sugar and salt. I eyeballed the teaspoon of each. Ah crap, forgot the broth. Adding now. 15oz is 1.875 cups. Thanks google.

I was mashing the hell out of everything with a spatula, and then it dawned on me that my last roommate left his blender here. Holy lord I have a blender! I am going to let this soup simmer for 45 and toss the whole damn pot into the blender for a quick chop chop. Ok, nothing to do for a while so heading to the fire escape for another beer. I am not sure why I have no money, no food, and yet plenty of beer it seems. I have eaten nothing today and its 2:30pm, so the beer feels like its really going to my head.

Ok, it has been 45 minutes, and the two tall boys really have my head spinning. Lets get this hot mess into the blender!

I atomized the whole deal, and kind of burned my arm when the hot soup splashed going in. Back into the pot. I did half milk, and half water because that is how I do my campbells soup. Mistake. Go all milk with this recipe.

In the end I say this is a success! Way better than out of the can.

Dannie said...

Patrick, I have been cracking up at your post. My husband thinks I'm off my rocker. Thanks for the laugh!

I'm headed off to the kitchen now to try this recipe out. It sounds delicious and I think it'll be the perfect side for hot turkey and cheese sandwiches we're having for dinner.