Tomato Soup Ny Times Food

TOMATO-PARMESAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Once it starts bubbling, stir in the onions and sauté until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, red-pepper flakes, and generous pinches of salt and pepper, and sauté until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, 1 cup water and the Parmesan rind, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the mixture has thickened, about 30 minutes. (If you find during your stirring that the Parmesan rind is stuck to the bottom or sides of the pot, pry it off with a wooden spoon.)
• Remove the rind from the soup, and let cool slightly. If you're planning to make the Parmesan toast, heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Use an immersion blender to purée the soup. (Alternatively, ladle the soup into a blender, and blend until smooth. For a super-smooth soup, run it through a fine-mesh sieve.) Season to taste with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan.
• If you're making the toast, rub 1 side of each slice of baguette with the garlic clove, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese over the top, then bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve the soup with a toast alongside or on top.

QUICK TOMATO SOUP WITH GRILLED CHEESE

Steps:

• Make the soup: Dump the canned tomatoes and their juices into a medium pot and using your hands, tear into coarse chunks. Swish the broth in the empty tomato can and add to the pot.
• Stir in the onion, butter, oregano and sugar and season generously with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and the tomatoes have broken down, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sandwiches: Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread and evenly sprinkle the cheese and a little oregano on the mayonnaise side of 4 slices. Top with the cheeseless slices, mayonnaise-side down.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium. Add the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan, then flip the sandwiches with a spatula, move them around to coat with the butter and cook until the other side is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat to lowest setting to keep sandwiches warm.
• Carefully purée the tomato soup using a blender until smooth and creamy, adding more broth if needed to loosen to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the grilled cheeses to a cutting board and cut each in half diagonally. Serve alongside the soup.

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Line 1 to 2 baking sheets (as needed) with foil and place the tomatoes on the foil. One baking sheet at a time, place the tomatoes under the broiler at the highest rack setting (about 2 to 3 inches from the heat). Turn when the tomatoes have charred on one side, which could take anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes, depending on your broiler, so watch carefully. Repeat on the other side. Remove from the heat and tip the tomatoes and any juice on the baking sheet into a large bowl. When they are cool enough to handle, peel, core, and chop coarsely.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for another minute, until the garlic is fragrant, and stir in the tomatoes, sugar, bread, basil, parsley, thyme, and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is thick and beginning to adhere to the bottom of the pot, about 20 minutes. Adjust salt, add pepper, and remove from the heat.
• Using an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor (place a towel over the blender lid to prevent hot soup from splashing out), blend the soup until smooth. Put through a medium strainer into a bowl. Rinse out the blender or food processor with the water and add to the puree (or just add to the puree if you used an immersion blender).
• Return the strained soup to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring often for 15 minutes, or until thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt. Serve, garnished, if you wish, with a sprinkling of fleur de sel and slivered basil, and a few garlic croutons.

TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.
• Add flour and stir until mixture is slightly thickened and pale gold, about 3 minutes; do not allow to brown.
• Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, sugar, salt, celery salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium until the liquid bubbles, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot frequently.
• Stir in half-and-half and honey. Remove from heat and purée using a hand blender, or allow to cool until no longer steaming and purée in batches in a stand blender. Return to medium heat just until heated through. Serve hot.

PROVENçAL TOMATO AND BASIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in half the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprigs or leaves and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the water, Parmesan rind and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the tapioca or rice, and simmer for another 15 minutes until the tapioca is tender and the soup fragrant. Remove the basil sprigs and Parmesan rind. Puree in a blender in small batches, taking care to place a towel over the top of the blender and hold it down tightly. If you used fresh unpeeled tomatoes and want a silkier soup, put through a strainer, using a spatula or the back of a ladle to push the soup through. Return to the pot, add pepper to taste and adjust salt. Serve garnished with garlic croutons and/or Parmesan, if desired, and slivered basil leaves. If serving cold, refrigerate until chilled.

WINTERTIME TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drain tomatoes and reserve liquid. Halve them and put in a roasting pan; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oil and the thyme, if using. Roast, turning once or twice, until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Use wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits from pan, adding a little liquid if necessary.
• Put remaining olive oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add garlic and cook just until it begins to color, a minute or so. Add carrot and onion and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper and stirring, for about 5 minutes. Stir in stock or water, along with contents of roasting pan and reserved tomato juice.
• Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then lower heat so it bubbles gently. Cover and cook until vegetables are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.