Friday, June 5, 2009

Gary’s Tomato Soup


I had this soup at my friend Val & Gary’s house and immediately fell in love. I knew I had to have the recipe so I could re-create this masterpiece at home. It has the best flavor of any tomato soup I have ever had and a perfect thick creamy consistency you would never get from a store-bought soup. I know its summer and soup is the last thing you’re thinking of eating, but being in Portland we get a rainy chilly day once in a while even during the hottest parts of the year. I’m going to make this soup every time that happens and fix myself a nice grilled cheese to go along side. I know is seems strange to add pesto and parmesan to the soup, but it really adds a ton of flavor and finishes off the soup perfectly. Thanks for sharing your amazing recipe Gary!

Gary’s Tomato Soup

2 28-Ounce Cans Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (Muir Glen brand is always good)
½ Stick Unsalted Butter
1 Small Onion, finely diced
2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
½ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
½ Cup Heavy Cream
Salt & Pepper
Pesto & Parmesan Cheese, For Garnish

Drain the diced tomatoes in a strainer collecting the water/juice in a bowl. Push down with a large spoon to get them as dry as possible. Add water to the collected juice to make a total of 3 cups of reserved juice.
Melt butter in a 5 quart stock pot; add onion and sauté until just browning over medium low heat. Add the drained tomatoes, light brown sugar and tomato paste, cook for about 15-20 minutes to dry out and caramelize the tomatoes without burning them so they are a deep, dark red color.
Mix in the all purpose flour and cook for a minute or so to incorporate. Add chicken or vegetable broth and the reserved 3 cups of tomato juices, scraping the bottom of the bowl to release the browned tomato bits. Then add the cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, uncover, and carefully blend in the pot with a stick blender until as smooth as you like. Stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Turn heat back on and heat soup back to simmer then turn heat off.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a dollop of basil pesto and a sprinkle of parmesan.

4 comments:

Stacy and Brian's Adventures in Life said...

Perhaps you should make it today! I expected more sun after yesterday's thunderstorms. I love tomato soup - especially with a gooey toasted cheese. Thanks for sharing! Stacy

Pam said...

Oh yum...it looks and sounds delicious. I love that you top it with pesto.

Jeff said...

I could definitely see those fire roasted tomatoes adding some awesome flavor to the soup! Heck it is one of my favorite things to do with tomatoes.

Also it is never to hot for a good bowl of soup in my opinion.

Jan said...

Despite all the storms we've been having in Oklahoma, it's still way too hot for soup. Looks and sounds fab though, I'll have to take it for a test run later in the year.