As the title suggests, This is one of those recipes that everyone should have in their files. First, easy and tasty (as most soup recipes should be and usually are). It is also incredibly inexpensive. I get a crock pot FULL of fresh made soup, easily a dozen bowls for around 50 CENTS a serving.
But all of that would not matter a bit if it was not also GREAT tasting… And it is.
Most cooks know that except during 3 months of the year, the freshest most flavorful tomatoes are found in a can. The worst tasting tomatoes (in winter and spring) are found in the “fresh” produce aisles. Sadly just no comparison in taste.
So, embrace the can, you will be rewarded with summer freshness, summer flavors and a beautiful, rich, full flavored bowl of warming goodness! And, hidden in the soup is are a couple pounds of vegetables.
Go ahead and look at the bottom shelf. That’s where you will find one of those BIG industrial cans of tomatoes. I like to buy the pre-diced tomatoes, but I have made this recipe with cans of whole tomatoes. At your neighborhood grocery store the cans are about $5 each. I buy mine at a warehouse store (Sam’s Club) and the cans are less than $3… What a deal!
And, BTW… Feel free to go nuts with this recipe… Do you like Creamy tomato soup, add a brick of cream cheese in place of the Parmesan cheese in this recipe. This particular bowl is seasoned with Herbs de Provence for an herbaceous flavor. But some days I am in a Cajun mood, or Southwest Peppery mood or even a sweet mood (I added a little Applesauce in this recipe, but you can double the amount for a more pronounced natural sweet flavor). Come to think of it, since you are making LOTS of soup, you could pull a few bowls worth out of the pot, put that in a stove top pot and season for an all new tomato soup from the base.
OH, and this freezes wonderfully. Get those heavy duty freezer bags, put in a couple servings in a bag, squeeze out as much air as possible and you can have hot soup at a whim.
Can you tell I love this recipe????
OK… Here’s what I did…
Tomato Soup from
Canned Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 LARGE Can of diced Tomatoes They are the freshest in winter.
- 2 TBS Olive Oil
- 1 Large Red Onion, peeled, diced
- 2 Large Carrots, peeled, diced
- 2 Stalks Celery, diced
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Herbs, I used Oregano, Sage and Parsley
- 1 cup Applesauce
- 2 Cups Chicken Stock
- 1/2 Cup Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper core and seeds removed, minced
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 2 Small cans (6 Oz) Tomato Paste
Cooking Directions
- In a LARGE Crock Pot slow cooker, add the Canned diced tomatoes. Set on high.
- Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the Onions, Carrots and Celery. Saute for about 5 minutes until the Onions become soft and translucent.
- Add the herbs and stir to mix. Transfer all of this to the Crock Pot slow cooker.
- Add the microwaved soft cooked peeled and diced Sweet Potato to the Crock pot slow cooker. Stir everything to combine.
- Add the Chicken Stock, Parmesan Cheese, minced Jalapeno, Garlic Powder and Cumin. Stir again to combine.
- Cover and simmer on Low for 8 hours (or High for 3)
- After several hours of simmering, use a hand wand blender (or transfer in batches to a food processor or stand blender) and blend until smooth.
- Add the Tomato Paste as needed to thicken, blending again with each can added. If your soup is still too thin, allow to simmer uncovered for 1 hour more.
- Serve HOT and Enjoy
