So, the other day, I was craving something warm, something comforting, you know? And I thought, tomato soup! But I didn’t want to spend ages in the kitchen. Needed something quick and easy, for real.
First off, I raided my pantry. Grabbed a big can of crushed tomatoes – the 28-ounce kind. Figured that’s the heart of the soup, right? Then I spotted an onion, just a regular yellow one, sitting on the counter. Perfect. And a couple of cloves of garlic, always got those around.
Got my favorite pot, not too big, not too small. Put it on the stove. Splashed in a bit of olive oil. Just enough to coat the bottom. While that was heating up, I roughly chopped that onion. No need for perfect little dice here, it’s all getting blended later anyway. Minced the garlic too. Or, well, smashed it and chopped it a bit, more like.
Once the oil was shimmery, I threw in the onions. Let them cook down for a few minutes, stirring them around until they got soft and a bit see-through. You know that smell? Love it. Then I tossed in the garlic, just for about a minute. Gotta be careful not to burn that stuff, it gets bitter quick.
Next, in went the crushed tomatoes. Poured the whole can in. Gave it a good stir to mix with the onions and garlic. Then I needed some liquid to make it soupy. I had some chicken broth open in the fridge, so I used about two cups of that. Veggie broth would work just fine too, or even water in a pinch, I guess.
I also added a pinch of sugar. My grandma always said it helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes, and who am I to argue? Plus a bit of salt and pepper. You can always add more later, but it’s good to start building those flavors. Sometimes I throw in a bay leaf here if I have one, but didn’t bother this time.
Brought the whole thing up to a simmer. Just a gentle bubble, nothing too wild. Popped a lid on, but left a little gap, and let it do its thing for about 15 minutes. Just long enough for the flavors to get friendly with each other. This ain’t no all-day sauce, remember, quick and easy.
Alright, after 15 minutes, it was smelling pretty good. Turned off the heat. Now for the blending part. I’ve got one of those immersion blenders, a stick blender. Best thing ever for soups. Stuck it right in the pot and buzzed everything up until it was nice and smooth. If you don’t have one, you can carefully transfer it to a regular blender, but man, the stick blender is less mess.
After blending, I gave it a taste. Always taste! It needed a little more salt, a bit more pepper. I also decided to stir in a tiny splash of heavy cream I had. Just a tablespoon or two. Makes it a bit richer, a bit more velvety. But if you don’t have it or don’t want it, no big deal, it’s still good without it. Sometimes, if I want a little kick, I add a dash of hot sauce, but not today.
And that was pretty much it! Ladled it into a bowl. It was hot, it was tomatoey, and it was seriously easy. Sometimes I make grilled cheese with it, but this time, just the soup. Hit the spot. Definitely a keeper for when you want something good without the fuss.