Chunky Tomato Vegetable Soup

Chunky Tomato Vegetable Soup - Seriously Soupy

It is still pretty nippy out there and I even saw some snow this morning - despite the fact that it is technically spring. To take refuge, I am still enjoying hearty soups like this chunky tomato vegetable recipe. Originally featured as a guest post on Mom in the City, I recently made this soup using beans, tomatoes, onions, kale, carrots, broccoli, dried basil and rosemary. This recipe is also very flexible and you can use any variation of vegetables that you have or add some pasta or rice for a quick and hearty post-winter waiting for warmer days soup.

Chunky Tomato Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
2-3 cups of water – you can add more if you want a thinner soup
5 heirloom tomatoes, cut up or 1 can of chunky tomato sauce
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 can of kidney beans
1/2 bunch of kale trimmed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2-3 stalks of carrots, peeled and cut
1/2 bunch of broccoli, cut up
2-3 red potatoes, cut up
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of dried basil
1 tablespoon of dried rosemary
salt
pepper

Directions:
Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of medium-sized pot. Cut up the tomatoes (or open the can) and add them to a pot. Let cook for 5 minutes and add one cup of water. Remove from flame and blend together using a hand mixer – should be slightly chunky. Return to a low flame and add the rest of the water and cover. Cut up the onions and garlic and add them, along with the basil, rosemary and bay leaves to the pot and bring to a slight boil. Prepare and cut up the carrots, potatoes, kale and broccoli and add them to the pot along with the beans and some salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a medium-heat. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes, checking on the soup periodically. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if necessary. Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions:
Top with Parmesan cheese or croutons.

Seriously Soupy Serena

Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup

Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup - Seriously Soupy

I recently had the pleasure to share this garbanzo bean and roasted tomato soup with the readers of Food 2. One of my favorites, hummus soup, was the inspiration for this hearty and delicious winter soup. Using roasted tomatoes, fresh herbs (dill, rosemary, basil, cumin and tumeric) as well as tahini, this soup is great with some pita and lemon juice for a healthy mini-meal.

Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Tomato Soup
Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 60 mins
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
3-5 cups of water – may need to add more as you go
1 12.5-ounce can of garbanzo beans, drained
3-4 tablespoons of sesame tahini
1 clove of garlic, minced and divided
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
Drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat the tomatoes
2 bay leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
*Bunch of fresh dill, chopped (about a handful)
*Bunch of fresh rosemary, chopped (about a handful)
*Bunch of fresh basil, chopped (about a handful)
Pinch of curry powder
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
* Can also use dried herbs: about 1 teaspoon dried for each tablespoon of fresh
Serving suggestion: Side of Pita Bread

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Add the water to a medium-sized soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add onions and half of the garlic to the pot and reduce to a simmer.
2. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining garlic. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Add garbanzo beans to the soup pot, along with the tahini, bay leaves, rosemary, basil, dill, cumin and turmeric, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. Cover and let cook for 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes to the pot and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and, using an immersion or standard blender, blend until smooth. Taste, adding more salt and/or pepper if needed, and serve.

Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach

Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach - Seriously Soupy

Sometimes it takes a little inspiration to create a new soup. I was perusing through "Great Tastes Soup" by Bay Books and discovered a delicious-looking chickpea, potato and spinach soup and an interesting tomato soup that included celery stalks and carrots. I decided to combine aspects of the two to create this creamy tomato soup with chickpeas and spinach by adding some simple flavors like rosemary and thyme and omitting the potatoes, sugar, and bay leaves. A classic recipe that can continuously be altered - and that is the beauty of soups.

Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach

Ingredients: 

5-6 heirloom tomatoes, cut up
3 cups of water, approximately
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut up
2 green onions, finely chopped
2-3 garlic, minced
2-3 stalks of celery, cut up
2-3 carrots, cut up
1 can of tomato paste
Pinch of rosemary
Pinch of Thyme
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) 
1/4 cup of light cream
Bunch of fresh spinach
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
Drizzle of olive oil

Directions:
Cut up the onions - both yellow and green - and place them in a medium-sized pot, along with the garlic and olive oil. Cover and let cook for 10 minutes as you cut up the tomatoes, celery, and carrots. Add them to the pot, along with the paste, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and some water (use your discretion). Cover and let cook for 30-40 minutes. When the vegetables are soft, turn off the flame and mix the ingredients together in a blender with the cream. Return to the pot and add the spinach and chickpeas. Let cook for another 5 minutes. Taste with salt and pepper and top with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

What are your favorite recipes for tomato soup?

Seriously Soupy Serena

Tomato Basil Carrot Soup with Gnocchi

Tomato Basil Carrot Soup with Gnocchi - Seriously Soupy

Well, now that's a mouthful of a title and a completely different soup than I intended to make this week but, as it turns out, one that was delicious and super easy to make. Originally, I was going to make Manhattan Clam Chowder (which I still plan to do) but after getting caught in a storm, actually a hurricane, and subsequently getting drenched the only thing (other than getting dry) that I wanted to do was to go home and have a nice comforting bowl of soup. Since I was far from a store that sold fresh clams, I decided to use the fresh tomatoes that I purchased earlier in the day -- a mix of yellow and beefsteak ones -- along with some carrots to create a tomato basil and carrot soup. I opted to use carrots instead of creating a traditional tomato basil soup because it was a seemed a little too similar to the tomato basil fish soup and the tomato pesto soup that I made a few weeks ago. 

For this soup, I decided to make it a little chunkier -- nothing like a chunky after the rain -- which can be modified if you want a smooth soupy. The gnocchi part came into play because I had some leftovers at home, which made the soup nice and filling. Hope you enjoy this one, this sweet and savory soup definitely made my day a lot better.

Eat, Pray, Love (and Soup!)

A journey through Italy, India and Indonesia via soups

Most likely you have heard of the hugely popular memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love" that chronicle's Elizabeth Gilbert's journey of self-discovery from New York to Italy to India, and finally, to Indonesia. The eat part of Gilbert's journey involved her spending four months in Italy where she indulged in pizza, pasta, gelato, etc as she attained a new appreciation for food. I wonder, though, if through her travels did Gilbert enjoy the multifaceted soups from these countries. Did she enjoy a big bowl of minestrone soup in Italy? Or, did she enjoy a comforting bowl of tomato rasam (tomato soup) after mediating in India? Or maybe she indulged in a heaping bowl of green papaya soup in Indonesia? After all, soups do have a comforting and healing effect, not to mention are renowned for their nutritional properties. Well, soups weren't the focus of Gilbert's memoir, but it is certainly what drives this site and what complied me to what to learn more about soup recipes from these countries and embark on my journey via my soup pot.

Full Disclosure: This is by NO means a complete listing of soup recipes from these countries. I did the best I could by choosing the most interesting, popular and fun recipes from these countries. Also, given that I haven't personally traveled to India and Indonesia,  I relied on the good-ole internet and some trusty recommendations as my guide. If you have any soups to add, please email me directly at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com or leave a comment with your tasty soup link.

Italy (Eat)

Minestrone Soup

Recipe and image from www.Food 52.com by FoodWriter97426

Ingredients:

Serves 6
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic,minced or crushed
olive or vegetable oil for sauteing
3/4 cups dry cannellini beans
1/4 cup dry garbanzo beans
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cut green beans, fresh or frozen
1 cup zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 cups chopped tomatoes (or 1 can, with juice)
2" piece Parmesan cheese rind
1 small napa cabbage (about 10 oz)
1/3 cup soup pasta (e.g.ditalini, orzo, tiny shells)
1/2 cup red wine
shredded Parmesan for garnish

Directions:
    1.    Heat a heavy 4 quart (or larger) pot over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat bottom of pot. Add onions and garlic; reduce heat to medium. Saute until onions are translucent.
    2.    Add beans, water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are just barely tender.
    3.    Add herbs and seasonings, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and cheese rind. Return to boil briefly, then reduce heat to low and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
    4.    In the meantime, thinly slice and chop cabbage. Add to soup along with the pasta and simmer 30 minutes.
    5.    At this point the soup can be refrigerated (or left on the stove with the heat off for up to 2 hours). Reheat before serving. When ready to serve, add wine and taste for seasoning. Serve topped with grated cheese if desired, or pass cheese at the table.
    6.    Note: Vegetables can be changed, added to or deleted. Amounts are only suggestions. Dried herbs can be used in place of fresh - cut amounts by 1/2.

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

Recipe and image from www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:
3 Italian turkey sausage links (4 ounces each), casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-3/4 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped 

2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:
1. Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Add the broth, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
2. Stir in tortellini; return to a boil. Cook for 7-9 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Serve with cheese if desired. 

Yield: 6 servings (2 quarts) 

India (Pray)

Tomato Soup Recipe - Tomato Rasam - Kerala
Recipe and image from www.indianfoodsco.com
Ingredients:


4
8 oz. or 250 gms tomatoes diced

1 onion, chopped

Spices: 
4 cloves garlic, crushed
 4 green chilies, chopped 
1 tsp. tamarind pulp, 
1 tbsp. jaggery
, 1 tsp. mustard seeds
, 10 curry leaves (optional)
1 red chili, broken into two
1 tsp. coriander seeds, 1 tsp. cumin seeds +  2 tsp. peppercorns, tbsp. oil

Method:

1.  Boil the tomatoes, chilies and garlic in 4 cups of water.

2. Add the ground spices, jaggery and tamarind pulp and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Heat the oil. Add mustard seeds until they splutter.  Add the curry leaves, red chili, asafetida powder and onion and fry for a minute.
4. Pour it over the tomatoes.  Heat and serve the rasam garnished with chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

Mulligatawny Soup
Recipe from SoupSong.com 

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 chile pepper, seeded and deveined (your choice: banana, poblano, jalapeno, habanero)
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup lentils
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup coconut milk* or whipping cream

1-2 cups cooked rice (preferably basmati)

1/2-1 cup shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup tart raw apple, chopped fine

Garnish: spoonful of extra cream or coconut milk--and minced cilantro or parsley.

Directions:

Saute the celery, carrots, onion, and pepper in the butter at a low heat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder to blend and cook for a minute. Pour in the stock, add the lentils (and chicken, if it's raw), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, get the rice cooked (if it isn't already); likewise with the chicken. Then shred the chicken and chopped the apples finely. You don't need to skin the apples. When the soup is done, season to taste with the salt and pepper, then puree, solids first, in a blender. Return to pot. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a simmer and add the coconut milk or cream. Take the pot to the table, as well as individual bowls of warm rice (heated in the microwave, if necessary), shredded chicken, finely chopped apple, coconut milk (or cream), and minced cilantro (or parsley). To serve, have big individual serving bowls at the ready. Spoon rice into each bowl (flat soup bowls are nice here)--then pile on a big spoonful of chicken and a spoonful of apple. Ladle the soup on top, then drip coconut milk/cream into the center and swirl--and sprinkling with fresh cilantro and parsley.

Indonesia (Love)

Sayur Bening Bayam Merah - Indonesian Red Amaranth Clear Soup
Soup and image from http://indonesia-eats.blogspot.com/
Ingredients:
700 g (1.5 lbs) amaranth greens
3 shallots (use 5 for smaller size), finely sliced
20 g (0.7 oz) fingerroot, crushed
2 sweet corns, shaved
1200 mL (5 cups) water
sea salt and sugar to taste

Directions:
1. Wash amaranth greens and drain. Take leaves and young stems.
2. In a pot, add water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add shallot, fingerroot, sweet corn kernels, salt and sugar. Taste for your liking. Cook until the corn done.
3. Add amaranth greens and cook for about the next 10 minutes or done. Serve.

Cook's Note:
- The soup is only good for a day. Never reheat the soup. Or else the soup will taste irony.

Green Papaya Soup with Seafood
Recipe from www.Baliguide.com
Ingredients: 

1 unripe papaya, weighing roughly 750 gr (1½ lb) 

1 cup spice paste for seafood
1 liter chicken stock
¼ liter coconut milk
2 salam leaves
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
¼ tsp powdered black pepper
100 gr shrimps, clams, and mussels 

100 gr diced firm fish
1 tsp salt
Fried shallots to garnish 

Preparation: 

1. Heat stock, add seafood, marinade and bring to boil. Simmer 2 minutes
2. Add salam leaves, lemongrass and papaya, simmer gently until the papaya is 95% tender. Add coconut milk and seafood and continue to simmer (do not boil) until papaya and seafood is tender. 

3. If the stock reduces too much, add more stock
4. Season to taste with pepper and salt and garnish with fried shallots. 

Note: If you wish to prepare a lighter version of this soup then leave coconut milk and seafood out.



What soups have you tried from these countries?

Seriously Soupy Serena

Friday Soup Links

Barbara Kafka's Moroccan Tomato Soup by The Wednesday Chef

Chilled and veggie soups are all the rage for the summer, and and it's easy to see why: they're light, easy to prep and taste pretty darn good. Here are some veggie soups that caught my eye this week.

1. Barbara Kafka's Moroccan Tomato Soup-  While reading The Wednesday Chef's tale of soup-making I couldn't help but smile. I, too have had a hard time creating soup with the heat (hence the lack of posts), but when there is some relief I quickly figure out what the next soup will be, gather up my ingredients and start cooking. Luckily for us, the WC had a break from the heat and was able to hop on her bike, locate some yummy tomatoes and get cooking. Her hearty (and I mean hearty) tomato soup is packed with spices (cayenne pepper and cumin), cilantro, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and of course tomatoes.

2. Puree of Turnip Soup - I have yet to use turnips in a soup, but I'm thinking that is about to change, especially after reading about Julie Morris' Puree of Turnip Soup. Another simple one -- Morris added broth, potatoes, onions and turnips -- with an interesting addition (almond milk) that may also make an appearance in future soupy's.

3. Asparagus Soup- The beauty of this interesting-looking vegetable is that it is not only tasty (in my personal opinion), but it is also very versatile in soup. Food Junta's white asparagus soup -- inspired by recipe from Emeril Lagasse uses shallots, leeks, heavy cream and stock that is good to go in an hour.

What new vegetable soups have you made this week?
Seriously Soupy Serena

Tomato Pesto Soup

 Gorgeous Tomatoes -- Before the Soup

 Tomato Pesto Soup -- Seriously Soupy

The heat wave in NYC has made the whole soup-making thing quite difficult (to say the least). Of course there are chilled soups, but making anything in general has not been favorable, especially when there is ice cream! However, there was a bit of a relief today (with temps in the upper 80s), and thanks to the farmers market I was inspired to break a sweat and make a soup.  I found these gorgeous tomatoes -- a mixture of orange, heirloom and green -- and decided to use them as a base, along with homemade pesto. But, I must warn die-hard pesto lovers: my pesto isn't 100% authentic -- more of a variation used to compliant the soup. This light summer soup was so easy to make,  leaving less time to sweat and more time to enjoy this delicious basil and tomato soupy. Let me know what you think and I'm hoping to try a chilled number next week. Stay cool!

Tomato Pesto Soup

Ingredients:
For Soup
4 cups of water- approximately
4 tomatoes - mixed blend
bunch of fresh basil
bunch of fresh sage
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper


For Pesto:
1/4 cup of pine nuts
bunch of fresh basil -- approximately a handful
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
pinch of pepper
pinch of salt

Directions:
Start by boiling water into a medium-sized pot. Dice tomatoes and place them into the boiling water, along with the fresh basil, sage, and salt. Cover the pot and start making the pesto. Mash the pine nuts. I used a rolling pin, but you can also use a sturdy can or grind them in a blender. Chop up the basil (very fine) and place it in a bowl, along with the pine nuts olive oil, basil, lemon, salt and pepper.  Place the pesto mixture into a blender until the mash is semi-liquefied -- (the grind setting did this nicely!). There will be some chunks, if that bothers you continue to blend. Add the pesto to soup and cover. Let cook for 15 more minutes, tasting the soup along the way. I ended up adding another cup of water. Turn off the flame and enjoy!

Seriously Soupy Serena

Hangover Soup—A New Year's Day Soupy Solution

Written by: Lonnie Feldman, Guest Writer

Happy New Year's everybody! Today is a day to reflect on the year that past, for what lies ahead, and of course (for some of us) that means nursing that serious hangover. So I decided to create a soup inspired by everyone's favorite hangover cure- the bloody mary. I have never made a tomato cream soup before, nor am I really a fan of the bloody mary, but I thought it would be interesting to create a cream-based tomato soup and enhance it with the ingredients found in a traditional bloody mary (sans alcohol, so kids eat up!).  For the tomato cream soup, I loosely followed a recipe by Michael Chiarello from foodnetwork.com.  This was followed with the traditional elements of a bloody mary: tobasco and worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, as well as fresh ginger (a natural hangover fighting food), and celery salt for an added tangy taste.  The result was a creamy tomato soup with a kick!

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 stalk celery, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

approx teaspoon minced ginger

celery salt to taste

1 tsp each of tabasco and worcestershire sauce

little less than 1/4 cup of lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Servings: 2-4

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Strain and chop the canned tomatoes (the original recipe called for chopped tomatoes but I had a can of whole tomatoes already in the house and I made the mistake of NOT chopping the tomatoes before placing them in the oven; I had to chop afterwards and now have the burn marks on my arms showing this wasn't the wisest of moves), reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, drizzle 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery,onion, and ginger; cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to large pot, add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.  Once smooth add the lemon juice, tobasco and worcestershire sauce, and celery salt to taste.  At this point you can add more fresh ginger as well.  Cook together for an additional 10-15 minutes.  In the bowl, garnish with celery stalk and basil leaf and serve!

P.S. It didn't come out as red as I would have liked it to; I am thinking the heavy-cream muted the color of the tomatoes so if you want to preserve the look of a bloody mary I would use less or even no heavy cream.  Michael Chiarello's original recipe called for a 14oz can of tomatoes, yielding 4 servings; I doubled the tomatoes because that was what was on hand and barely got 4 servings out of it, perhaps he used smaller bowls than myself?

Seriously Soupy Guest Writer Lonnie Feldman

Tomato Cream Soup

I was stumped at what soup I wanted to test out this week. I couldn't do anything that was to involved (although I would like to down the line), so I opted to try a basic tomato soup. I never made a tomato soup before but it sounded simple enough, so I got together some fresh and canned tomatoes, rosemary, lime juice, chives, heavy cream for a rich and hearty blend. I was told that I should have added more cream, but I thought it was fine as is, however these are personal choices and adding more or less cream is your choice, especially when creating your own soupy. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of organic diced tomatoes
• 2 large tomato, cut up
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth (still need to get on that make my own broth thing)
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 of a red onion, cut up
• 1 clove of garlic chopped up
• 1 tablespoon of lime
• 1 stalk of chives, cut up into small segments
• 1 teaspoon of rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of basil
• 1/4 cup of whipping cream (heavy cream will also suffice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

Directions:

Start boiling the water with onions, basil, rosemary, garlic, lime juice, and chives. Once you have a boil add the tomatoes, canned and fresh to the pot. Add your bouillon cube and some broth and cover for 30 minutes. Add the whipping cream to the mix and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover for an additional 10-15 minutes and let cool. The recipe will make a chunky soup, but you can thin it out by blending the soup with a hand blender when it cools down.

Approximate cooking time: 1 hour.

Seriously Soupy Serena

P.S. The picture shows that the soup is topped with asparagus. I had extra, so I decided to roast it in the over for 10 minutes with some extra tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. A quick and easy side that paired really well with this soupy.