Tomato Soup: Exploring the distinction between food product and preserved foods

One would think a blog called Soup Crafter and yet what’s been served up so far is pasta and meatballs. What follows here is a soup recipe. It’s a tomato soup recipe that builds upon what has been already been covered. This too is quickly made of simple things and is, oh, so much better than a condensed tomato soup from a can.

With that said, understand my definition of soup is broad one that extends to stews and sauces. My purpose here is not to create a catalog of recipes. Instead, it’s a “roadmap” toward rediscovering the pleasures of home cooking, of home cooked foods and of meals shared. This recipe starts with a tomato sauce. Do not use canned products labeled tomato sauce. Doing so would be to surrender. I have no complaint with canned goods. But once they are labeled a sauce they are someone else’s sauce. They are generally too salty and more often than not made from inferior products.

This recipe begins with premium imported Pomi brand strained tomatoes. Alternatively one can start with tomato paste. The important thing is that what comes out of can or box has only one ingredient – tomatoes. What we have here is not so much a commercial food product but a commercially preserved food. It’s an important distinction.

Now to the recipe, this is a creamy thick soup which beautifully marries the smoothness of heavy cream and the sweetness of basil to the full flavor of fresh ripe tomatoes.

28 oz.  Box of Pomi brand strained tomatoes.

                Or

2   Six ounce jars of tomato paste diluted with two cups of water.

1  14.5 oz.  low sodium chicken broth.

½ Cup heavy cream.

3  Large, ripe tomatoes pealed and diced into a one inch dice.

2  Teaspoons dried basil.

In a four quart pot, combine the strained tomatoes or reconstituted tomato paste with the chicken broth, cream and dried basil. Bring to a boil then simmer. Meanwhile bring another four quart pot of water, half full, to boil. Score the skin on bottoms of the tomatoes with two shallow slices each about an inch long making an x. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for about minute or so then plunge into cold water. The tomato skin will then easily peal way. Core and dice tomatoes and add them to the soup. Continue to simmer until the tomatoes are thoroughly heated yet still firm. Salt and pepper to taste then serve.

This recipe will serve six as the first course to a more substantial meal or four with a lighter meal accompanied with grilled cheese sandwiches.