Description
Adapted from this Creamy Tomato Soup recipe in Bon Appetit
I’ve been making a half recipe (reflected in the ingredients below), which never lasts the day, so feel free to double it.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- a few sprigs thyme
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- ¼ cup (or more) heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
- Fresh bread for serving
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, onion, and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes—it will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add tomatoes with juices and 4 cups water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. As the plum tomatoes rise to the surface while the soup simmers, use scissors to cut them up. (You’ll purée it later, but cutting them up helps them cook down better.) Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 1 quart, 45 minutes or so. Remove soup from heat; discard thyme sprigs. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth or purée with an immersion blender.
- Stir in ¼ cup cream. Taste and adjust as needed. I usually add 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, but I like salt, so season to taste or start with 1 teaspoon salt and add more to taste. I like lots of fresh cracked pepper, too. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Taste again, and add more cream, if desired.
- Ladle soup into bowls and shave Parmigiano Reggiano over top. Serve with more pepper on the side and bread.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American, Italian
