In the kitchen no. 3 - Hearty Tomato Soup

It was 70 degrees in the DC area on Friday. Monday evening, it snowed.

Mother nature is toying with me.

The warm weather kicked my body into cravings of spring - fresh vegetables, a green herb garden and constant sunshine. But the threat of snow earlier in the week had me craving comfort foods. This hearty tomato soup is the perfect compromise.

Hearty Tomato Soup

(Flat Belly Fat - Olive Oil)

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

- Olive oil, 1/2 cup

- Yellow onion, 1 medium, roughly chopped

- Fennel bulb, 1 whole, roughly chopped

- Fresh thyme, to taste (I used the equivalent of about 3 heaping tablespoons)

(If using dried thyme, about 1 heaping teaspoon is the equivalent)

- Garlic cloves, 4 large peeled and crushed

- Organic tomato paste, 1 6-ounce can

- Organic canned diced tomatos, 2 28-ounce cans

- Filtered water, 4 cups

(if I happen to have stock on hand, I will use part stock, and part water; I had chicken stock on hand this evening, and used about 1 cup of stock and 3 cups of water. I find that stock gives the soup a more complex flavor. I don't, however, use all stock - it can overpower the tomatoes). 

- Dried basil, a pinch

- Kosher salt, to taste

- Cracked black pepper, to taste

- Kosher salt, to taste

- Cayenne pepper, a pinch (optional)

- Balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons

- Heavy cream, one tablespoon per serving (optional)

1. Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large soup pot. Roughly chop the onion and fennel bulb and add to the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until softened and the edges are caramelized, about 10 minutes.

2. Towards the end of the vegetable cooking, toss in a bundle of fresh thyme and 4 crushed garlic cloves.

3. Add the entire can of tomato paste to the vegetables. Mix thoroughly. Add the two cans of diced tomatoes, water/stock, basil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer, partially uncovered, for 30 minutes until reduced by about 1/3, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the balsamic vinegar to the soup; if you prefer a sweeter soup, add the balsamic at the beginning of the simmering process (with the tomatoes) to give the sugars sufficient time to reduce and sweeten.

5. Puree the soup with a stick blender. If you don't have a stick blender, you can puree in small batches in your food processor or regular blender, but allow it to cool first.

6. Pour into soup bowls, garnish with heavy cream and fresh thyme. We made this a complete meal by adding fresh-baked French bread, and a spinach salad, with orange slices, red pepper and English cucumber.

Even the goobs enjoyed it. He looks like such a big kid in this photo. Thank goodness it's just the angle -  he's still just a little squish :) I can easily hang onto this age a bit longer...