Tomato Soup Recipes - How To Make Tomato Soup

One of the best gastronomic delights in the world is sipping spoonfuls of steaming hot, savory tomato soup. It is a comfort food that is both delicious and healthy. Especially if it is made out of fresh, ripe red tomatoes. You can get 40 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement from a single tomato. Plus, it is also rich in potassium, vitamin A, and antioxidants such as lycopene.

Tomatoes get their luscious red color from lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid, which is a natural food pigment that occurs in vegetables and fruits. Among dietary carotenoids, lycopene is considered the most potent. Lycopene is not produced in the human body, hence it is essential to get it from dietary sources. It has been scientifically proven that consuming tomatoes reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, because of the lycopene content in the vegetable. And another interesting point is that it has been shown that lycopene is absorbed more efficiently by the body when the tomato is cooked or processed, and not when it is consumed raw. Hence, here are a few tomato soup recipes that will not only delight your taste buds, but also give you the health benefits you need:

Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup

• 1 ½ lb. fresh tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 2 or 3 onions, finely chopped
• 1 medium sized potato, roughly chopped
• 1 medium sized carrot, roughly chopped
• ½ oz. sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 1 to 2 tsp powder of vegetable stock
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (or 1 to 2 tsp dried basil)
• 10 oz. milk (optional)
• 4 to 5 oz. cream (optional)

Heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute the onion, carrot, garlic and celery for five minutes. If you are using dried basil, put it in now. Then, add the potato and continue sautéing a little more. When the potatoes begin sticking in the pan, add the fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and bay leaves. Then add enough stock or water so that it just covers the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook until the vegetables get tender, say about for half an hour.

Then, remove the bay leaves, and blend the soup into a smooth consistency. To get the desired consistency, add more water and milk or cream. Season the soup according to taste. Remember, the soup must not be boiled once the cream or milk is added. This soup is very delicious even without the cream or milk. You can just add some more water.

Stir some of the freshly chopped basil into the soup, and sprinkle the rest of it as garnish.

Gazpacho Tomato Soup

This chilled soup, which is a classic recipe, is full of vegetables fresh from the garden, and great for hot summer days.

For the soup:

• 2 large sized tomatoes
• 1 medium sized cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 green or red pepper, seeded and cut into small pieces
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 to 4 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 5 tbsp. chilled water (or according to the whatever consistency you want)
• ½ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Seasoning, according to taste

For the garnish:

• 4 oz. diced lobster tail, cooked
• 1 tsp. cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. chives, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. sour cream
• A few chervil leaves

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until you get a smooth consistency. Sieve the pureed vegetables. Place the soup in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly.

Mix all the ingredients of the garnish together. Add seasoning to taste. Pour the soup into soup bowls. Drizzle some extra virgin oil on the soup. Then place the garnish in little mounds, about a teaspoonful each, into each bowl of soup. You can also add a small chervil leaf on each.

Thai Tomato Soup with Noodles and Shrimp

• 2 packets of thin rice noodles (2 ounce, each)
• 3 cups diced canned tomatoes in its juice
• 1 lb. medium sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 7 cups chicken stock, simmered for 5-10 minutes with shrimp shell
• 1 tbsp. Asian chili-garlic sauce (or according to taste)
• 2 tbsp. Asian fish sauce (or according to taste)
• 1 cup green onions, thinly sliced, diagonally
• 2 tsp. hot pepper sesame oil (or according to taste)
• ½ cup cilantro
• 3 tbsp. garlic, finely sliced and fried in a vegetable oil, until golden brown and crisp

Put the noodles in a bowl of warm water, and let it soak until it softens, say for about 20-25 minutes. Drain the water out, and placing the noodles on a cutting board, cut through them lengthwise and crosswise, until you are left with roughly 4-inch pieces of noodles.

Strain the shrimp shells from the stock, then heat it until it begins to boil. Stir in the tomoatoes along with the juices, green onions, chili-garlic sauce, fish sauce, and hot sesame oil. Add the shrimp and noodles and simmer for about 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour into warm soup bowls and garnish with the crisp garlic and cilantro.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Jalapeno Cream

For the soup:

• 3 lb. plum tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 3tbsp. shallot, finely chopped
• 3 large sized garlic cloves, unpeeled
• ½ tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 tbsp. butter, unsalted
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup cream
• fresh juice of lemon, according to taste

For the jalapeno cream:

• 3 fresh jalapeno chilies, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large sized garlic clove, mashed with ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup sour cream

First, take two baking pans and line them with foil. Put the tomatoes, skin side down, in a single layer in one of the pans, and put the garlic in the other pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and both the garlic and the tomatoes for about an hour, or until the tomatoes soften and their skin turns dark brown. Remove both the garlic and the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to cool.

The take a heavy saucepan and place on moderate heat. Add the butter, salt and pepper to taste, and cook the oregano and shallot in this, stirring constantly, until the shallot softens. Then, add the tomatoes and garlic (with the skin removed), along with 11/2 cups of broth. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender until smooth, and strain it through a sieve. Whisk the cream in, adding more broth if required. Then add lemon juice, and salt and pepper according to taste.

To make the jalapeno cream, blend together the jalapeno chilies, garlic paste, and the sour cream in a blender, making sure not to over-blend it, or it may result in the cream curdling. Then sieve the cream.

Pour the soup in soup bowls, and drizzle some of the jalapeno cream over each bowl of soup.

Spicy Green Tomato Soup

• 11/2 lb. green tomatoes
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 medium sized green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small sized red pepper, seeded and chopped
• ½ lb potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup canned coconut milk, unsweetened (or milk)
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp. honey
• ¼ cup roasted cashew nuts
• 4tsp. fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a heavy pan, over medium heat. Then add the onions and stir fry for a minute or two. Then, add the garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander, and continue stirring, until the onions soften and become translucent. This will take about 5 minutes. Then, add the broth, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and honey, and bring to boil. After that, reducing the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the heat, and allow the soup to cool. Then, blend it in a blender until it is a smooth consistency. Use a sieve to strain it, and then put it back into the pan and reheat. Stir in the coconut milk, add some salt, and simmer for a few minutes. Pour into soup bowls, topping each with a dollop of fresh yogurt, cilantro, and cashew nuts.