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Hey, I'm John Cannell. And today on Happy Kitchen, we're making a delicious velvety tomato soup. So, let's get started. First off, just a little bit of prep. We need one yellow onion chopped. It doesn't have to be finely chopped because we're going to blend this soup up. I also have six garlic cloves here. You can mince those or go the lazy way and pass them through a garlic press like I am. My only bit of advice to you is to use fresh garlic and never get the jarred stuff. It just doesn't taste the same. I have my onion. I'm making some vertical cuts, and now we can just give it a dice.
Okay. Nice and easy. Once your prep work is done, grab a large Dutch oven and we're going to place this over medium heat. Whatever you're making tomato soup, it is important to use either an enameled or a stainless steel pan. If you use aluminum, copper, like anything else, you will get a like a metallic taste coming from those tomatoes because the surface will react with the acidity in the tomatoes. 3 Tbsp of olive oil. Okay. That lovely sound means that my butter is melted, so it's time to add the onions in. And now we're going to stir frequently until these onions are softened. That could be anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes, it depends on your cooktop, because this
one is so very hot, but more likely it'll be around 8 minutes. My onions have softened, so now we're going to add the garlic in. It could have been minced already or you can use a garlic press. It's up to you. So we're adding in six cloves right now. We're going to cook this now for a few minutes until the garlic is very fragrant and just starting to brown. It's just taking on color. Stir frequently. We do not want the garlic to burn and if it looks like your Dutch oven's getting too hot, reduce the heat.
By the way, if you like my videos, hit that subscribe button. There's two new recipes every single week. Tomatoes of course came from the New World so they were something that was introduced to the Europeans. And if you're wondering where tomato soup comes from, it comes from Spanish and Portuguese gazpacho recipes that incorporated tomatoes into them and then we had tomato soups and from there they went in all sorts of different directions. Today's recipe is a creamy, velvety creamed tomato soup. So we're going to add some cream in to finish it off and along with the butter and the sugar, the acidity of the tomatoes will really be rounded off by that cream. So you have a full flavor
without the sharpness that tomatoes can have. Once your garlic reaches that really fragrant stage and it's just taking on color, we can add the tomatoes in. Two 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes are going to go into this recipe. By the way, this smells delicious already. Just onions and garlic always a winning combination. We're also going to add in three cups of either water or stock. So if you're adding either of those, I would pour them into the can. Just get that last bit of tomato flavor out. I'm adding a tablespoon of sugar right now. This will help balance the acidity of the tomatoes and just balance the flavors in general.
You can add more sugar, by the way. A lot of times you're at a restaurant and you're having tomato soup and you're like, "Oh my gosh, this is the best tomato soup I've ever had. What's different?" There is more sugar, there is more salt, there is more cream, there's more butter. So, that's it. I'm also adding in half a teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Give this a quick stir and now we can let this come to a boil. It will be about 10 minutes. Once your soup comes to a boil, reduce to medium low and now we're going to let this simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. My soup is simmered away for half an hour, so now we can take it off heat and get to work.
Okay. Our soup is so close, but so far. I just tasted the soup and it needs some salt, so I'm going to add the salt in stages. One teaspoon to get it started. If you're like my mom and you do not like salt at all, give it a taste now and see how you like it. I know this has a ways to go for my personal taste and for my family. Stir that in. Okay. Grab that immersion blender that's been hanging out forever. I don't recommend using a high-speed blender here because when you blend olive oil, it can get incredibly bitter, especially if it's extra virgin, which is what most
people use in their kitchen. Pulse this up until it's nice and smooth. That looks good to me. I have 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream here. We're going to add that in. Adding a little bit of cream here makes a big difference. It's just like adding butter to finish off any dish. The butter changes how things melt on your tongue and it gives you a totally different mouthfeel and flavor. Stir that in. That 1 tsp of salt is basically good for me. I'm going to add just a little bit more. And then if anyone else wants it saltier, they can add salt to taste.
Your tomato soup will last 4 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Does really well in both cases. Serve immediately topped with fresh basil, cheese, or any garnish that you love. And just like that, it's ready to enjoy. Mhm. Warm, comfy, cozy, satisfying, and full of well-balanced flavors. I hope you get a chance to make this delicious recipe and if you like my videos, hit that subscribe button and check out my soup playlist.
