Homemade Tomato Soup

 
This post is long overdue, but I knew I'd get around to it eventually. I made homemade tomato soup about three weeks ago. I'd like to say that I finally have time to cook again, but that is certainly not the case. I am, however, slowly trying to make time to branch out and make things out of my normal repertoire again. Two little kids and a lot of unpacking really gets in the way of cooking nice meals.

My dad grew tomatoes this year, so I was going to use those. But by the time I got around to making the soup, the tomatoes were rotten. :( Then my co-worker, Mrs. Z, stepped up and brought me a bunch of tomatoes from her brother's garden! So, I was able to use fresh tomatoes, which really is the way to go if you're going to make soup.

Anyhoo, here's what you need:

• 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 slice onion
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

Now, I doubled this recipe because that's how many tomatoes I had, but I think a single batch would have been fine. We just froze the rest, though, so now we can have a hot, delicious bowl of tomato soup anytime.

First, you want to chop the tomatoes and the onion and throw them in a big ol' pot. Then add the cloves and chicken broth, and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Here's the thing, I only put six cloves in because I was worried about the flavor of them being too strong, and boy, was I ever right! Even with only six, the cloves kind of overpowered the soup, which is not what I wanted. Next time, I'll only put two cloves in.

Once the tomato mixture has simmered for a while, you'll want to either put it into a really good blender (I used my parents' VitaMix) or run it through a food mill so there are no chunks. Unless you like that kind of thing. Ew.

Then make a roux by melting the butter in a stockpot over medium heat, adding the flour, and stirring it until it's a golden brown color. Add a little of the tomato mixture and whisk it so there are no lumps, then add the rest of the mixture.

And voila! There you have it. Homemade tomato soup.

This is a great recipe. I would even venture to say it's perfect if it wasn't for the excessive clove taste. Next time, it'll be perfect. But until I get more fresh tomatoes next summer, it's Campbell's for me.