Italian Tomato Soup
ItalianSoupscomfort foodbudget friendlymake aheadfreezer friendly
Recipe by Nikoleta · @surovadcerka
Three kilos of tomatoes and almost nothing else, which only works if the tomatoes are properly ripe. Out of season this is the wrong soup to make — there's nowhere for a flat tomato to hide.
Peeling them is worth the ten minutes. Score an X in the base, a minute in boiling water, straight into cold, and the skins slip off. Left in, they roll up into tough little threads that survive blending and catch on the spoon.
The pinch of cinnamon at the end is the part that sounds wrong and isn't. It goes in after blending, and it doesn't read as cinnamon — it rounds off the acidity and makes the tomatoes taste riper than they are. Forty-five minutes, four servings.
Ingredients
soup
- 3000 g ripe tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 15 g fresh basil
- 15 g fresh oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch cinnamon
How to make it
- Score a shallow 'X' on the bottom of each tomato. Blanch them in boiling water for about 1 minute until the skin starts to peel away, then transfer immediately to cold water. Peel off the skins and roughly chop the tomatoes, keeping all the juices.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the finely diced onion and sauté for about 5-7 minutes until softened and lightly golden.
- Add the chopped tomatoes with all their juices, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, brown sugar, bay leaf, and black pepper. Stir well to combine, bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Blend the soup until completely smooth using an immersion blender or stand blender. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt or sugar as needed.
- Stir in the pinch of cinnamon and blend briefly once more. Serve hot with toasted bread and fresh basil leaves.
Nutrition
290Calories
8 gProtein
46 gCarbs
12 gFat
10 gFiber
per serving
