My version of fresh tomato soup

Our stand up freezer is filled with a great deal of what came out of my vegetable garden last summer.  Lots of fresh frozen white corn, pesto cubes, pureed pumpkin and a bunch of tomatoes.  In late July, one of the things I make once the tomatoes are ripe is a very rich tomato soup that screams for a gooey grilled cheese panini sandwich to eat along with it.  Although I prefer making this with fresh picked tomatoes, I have made this when I am at the grocery store and I see the produce guy removing the too soft for sell tomatoes and throwing them below his cart and into a box to discard of.  If you catch the guy or gal in a good mood, you can get them at a very small price like a dollar for the whole bag.  If it is an impressive quantity, then I take it all home to make my tomato soup.  My version is easy because you aren't having to blanch the tomatoes first to remove the skins and your not taking the seeds out because you will be using an immersion blender to make everything come together in the end as a hot velvety smooth soup that tastes amazing.

I recall giving a bowl to a friend once that had never tried tomato soup...her eyes lit up when she tried it.  Another had only had campbell's canned tomato soup, the same thing happened.  It's a good recipe.  It's one of my recipes that is somewhere between healthy and not so, because of the bacon and butter...but I use plain yoghurt instead of cream and it's still creamy and delicious.  Like yesterday's blog entree, this soup will warm you up but good...seems we all need a bit of that right now with this arctic bite in the air.

Robert's Rich Tomato Soup

3 lbs of whole tomatoes any variety - quartered

6 slices of bacon chopped

1/2 stick of unsalted butter

1 large white onion chopped

2 carrots chopped

three cloves of garlic smashed slightly

3 tbsp tomato paste

8 cups chicken broth

1 parmesiano reggiano rind (Whole Foods sells em)

1 large sprig of fresh rosemary or 1 tbsp dried

5 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tbsp dried

two large bay leaves

3 fresh sage leaves or 1 tsp dried

1/8 tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 cup plain yoghurt

Make a spice bundle of all the spices except the smoked paprika by enclosing them in cheesecloth and tying the ends with cotton twine and set aside

In a large dutch oven or stock pot, saute the bacon till it begins to brown

Add the butter and the vegetables to the pot and saute them till soft

Add in the chopped tomatoes, the spice bundle, the parmesiano rind, the liquid smoke, the paprika and the broth

Cook this mixture over medium low heat with the lid slightly ajar for about two hours, stirring every now and then

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed

Remove the cheese rind (sometimes it melts away completely sometimes not)

Discard the spice bundle

Puree the contents in the pot with an immersion blender for about 5 minutes or until the contents are very smooth
If you don't have an immersion blender you can transfer in batches to a blender

Add the plain yoghurt to the pot and blend another 2 minutes

Serve in large bowls with a dollop of plain yoghurt in center and with a cheesy cheesy panini on fancy bread

Stay warm all!

robert