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Have you ever been staring into your kitchen cupboards, looking both lost and puzzled, wondering what the heck you’re going to eat for dinner? Sure, there’s some sort of meal in there, but you have no idea what exactly it is. >Jump to recipe<
That was me the other day.
We’d been away for the weekend, hadn’t done any grocery shopping since we’d gotten home, and I didn’t have the ready cash for delivery, or the energy (or, also, the ready cash) to go to the grocery store that night. So I basically stared at the cabinets until something started to make sense. We had canned tomatoes in there. And vegetable broth. We had, like, half a container of heavy cream in the fridge. The remaining chunk of a block of parmesan cheese. Plenty of spices.
I was going to make soup. Yeah, that’s what I was gonna do.
And I did.
Honestly, and I think most of you guys know this, I’m not a chef; at all. I’m a little home-cook in a kitchen I’m still getting acquainted with. And you know what? Making soup from scratch – not just a brothy one with a bunch of meat and veggies thrown in, but a real, creamy, reminiscent-of-my-childhood soup – that’s daunting!
But I was hungry, and hunger makes a great motivator; and, ultimately, a totally delicious, totally successful meal!
It kind of reminded me of Campbell’s Tomato Soup from when I was a kid. That was one of my favorite, go-to, feel-better soups. I hope you guys like it as much as I did!
A note: the first time I made this, I did everything all in one pot, and the result was a little gritty from the parmesan. However, mixing the cream and cheese sauce together separately, whisking in the cheese slowly, results in a much creamier texture. The taste is the same (super-tasty!) either way, though.
Tomato & Parmesan Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Yield: 2 servings
A delicious, real food tomato soup, no reconstitution required.
Ingredients
1 can (about 14 ounces) diced, no salt added tomatoes
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)*
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese, divided
A few pinches chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Method
You'll need both a small and high-sided medium saucepan for this recipe.
In the medium saucepan, add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, spices and sugar, if using.
Cook over medium-low heat while you fix the cream and cheese sauce, stirring occasionally.
In the small saucepan, melt your butter over medium-low heat, then add the broth and the heavy cream, whisking to combine.
Add the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese a tablespoon at a time, whisking it into the mixture until smooth. Reserve the remaining two tablespoons.
Once the cheese is all added, and the mixture is smooth, turn off the heat and add the cream and cheese sauce to the tomatoes in the medium saucepan. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the insides to get all of the goodness.
Using a hand blender/stick blender/immersion blender**, blend all of the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Let simmer on medium-low heat an additional twenty minutes to let the flavors combine.
Stir occasionally.
Distribute evenly into two soup bowls, and garnish with remaining shredded cheese and chopped chives to serve.
Notes
*If you are on the 21-Day Sugar Detox (21DSD) do not use the coconut sugar.
**This is a great kitchen tool to have! It blends similarly to a food processor, but you don't have to dirty up a whole other appliance - you just purée your soup right in the pot! Ours is an older Cuisinart model, but the newer one linked above is pretty similar.
If you don't have one, but DO have a food processor or blender that can handle hot foods, simply combine the contents of both saucepans into it, and blend until smooth and creamy, then return it to the pot to simmer a while.
Originally published August 19, 2015