Tomato Soup Wars

You know how you can go through your whole life thinking you don't really like a certain thing and then BAM, all of a sudden you do?  Well that's what happened to me when we went to Medieval Times Dinner Theater last month and were served tomato bisque.  I feel pretty sure it wasn't the best tomato bisque to ever exist in the world, but it awakened my taste buds and made me realize I do indeed like tomato soup.

  So after we got home I felt the need to try to recreate it .  In fact the meal in the above picture was my attempt to recreate everything we ate there (except they also served a rib and dessert).

This recipe I found at the Williams Sonoma website, and decided to make this one as it was made out of fresh roasted tomatoes.  It turned out to be a whole lot of work for not a lot of return.  In fact it was barely enough for the four of us.  And I don't really think I liked how the roasting brought out the sweetness in the tomatoes.

The next one I tried was Ellie Krieger's Tomato-Tortilla Soup I think I first saw at Stirring the Pot.  Only thing I did different was forgo the tortillas as I was in the garlic bread mood.  

 This is a really nice tomato soup with a kick, and the lime juice you add to it gives it a nice summery flavor.  I highly recommend it.

Lastly, today I just made a straight up plain tomato soup made from canned tomatoes.  The recipe is loosely based on the one I found at CuisineNie.  I made quite a few changes, including leaving out the cream as I'm not really into creamy tomato soup.

 I really like my soup in this bowl

 This one is a definite winner too.  Served with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and chopped up basil, it's perfect anytime.  Even on a day when the high is 115.

Here's the recipe, with the things I did differently.   

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 28 ounces canned whole plum tomatoes or crushed tomatoes (I used one and a half of these cans)
• 2 1/2 cups of organic free range chicken stock (used closer to 3 cups)
• 1 1/2 cup of cream or half and half (left out)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh torn basil and freshly grated asiago cheese on top.
(I added about 3/4 cup red wine)

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions have softened, about 15 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are soft, 10 to 20 minutes. Then add cream or half and half.
3. Working in batches, transfer soup to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until soup is heated through. If soup seems too thick, stir in some extra stock to thin. Serve immediately and top with basil and asiago cheese.