Tomato Soup

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 30 minutes

F M V

Slowly caramelizing late-summer tomatoes makes fresh tomato soup way more intense. To move things even further, I add a little tomato paste, which provides the depth that even good fresh tomatoes sometimes lack. If there are no good tomatoes around — which is the case about nine months of the year — opt for the Wintertime Tomato Soup on page 107.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• Salt and pepper
• 3 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; include their juice)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups vegetable stock (pages 97–100), Tomato Water (page 98), or water, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, basil, or dill for garnish

1. Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it’s fragrant and darkens a little, less than a minute.
2. Add the onion and carrot, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato pieces break up, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the stock, stir, and taste. Adjust the seasoning; if the soup is flat tasting, stir in the sugar. (You can make the soup in advance up to this point. Cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.) If the mixture is too thick, add a little more stock or water. Garnish with the herbs and serve.

Puréed Tomato Soup The stuff of your childhood, or close to it: Increase the tomatoes to 4 cups and reduce the stock to 2 cups. When the tomatoes are cooked in Step 3, use an immersion blender to purée the soup in the pot. Or let the soup cool a little, carefully purée it in a blender (working in batches if necessary), and return it to the pot. Or if you’ve got a food mill, pass it through that. Reheat to a gentle bubble, and garnish as in the main recipe.

Cream of Tomato Soup No longer vegan, of course: Substitute butter for olive oil and reduce the stock to 1 cup. Follow the directions for the Puréed Tomato Soup variation. While reheating the puréed soup, add 1 cup cream or half-and-half; be careful not to bring it to a rolling boil.

Vegan Cream of Tomato Soup Follow the directions for the Puréed Tomato Soup variation but reduce the stock to 1 cup. While reheating the puréed soup, add 1 cup nondairy milk like almond, hazelnut, oat, or coconut (the reduced-fat kind is fine). Be careful not to bring it to a rolling boil.

Silky Tofu Cream of Tomato Soup Follow the directions for the Puréed Tomato Soup variation, but instead of the stock use one 12-ounce package soft silken tofu. After puréeing, reheat the soup gently; don’t let it boil. You might need to thin it with a little stock, water, or nondairy milk.