The swine flu has no dominion over homemade soup!

When the world's best tuna casserole was gone, I needed something else to comfort me and help me fight the H1N1 plague, and what would fill the bill better than a big pot of hearty, homemade soup? In my neverending quest to use up existing ingredients, I decided to make cream of tomato soup, as my wonderfully generous friend, Rosanne, sent me an entire CASE of the most amazing San Marzanos in puree from one of her favorite small, family-run companies called Sciabica, who are more famously known for their incredible olive oils.

The recipe I used had a lot of different veggies in it--more of a cream of V-8, if you will. It was terrific with a grilled ham and cheese sammie on the side, and as with most soups, it was even better over the next few days for lunch at work. If you or someone you know is feeling unwell or just needs a warm-up from the inside out, you should make this soup!


Classic Creamy Tomato Soup
(Source: adapted from The Culinary Review)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (I used a red onion)
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 large roasted peppers (from a jar), diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced (I used eight!)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 small can tomato paste
1 28 oz. whole San Marzano tomatoes in puree
4 cups water + 1 tablespoon chicken soup base
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (I prefer a thick, aged one)
1/2 cup half-and-half (I probably used 1 cup)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Sweat the onion, celery, carrots and peppers in the oil and butter. After about 10 minutes, add the garlic, thyme, bay leaves, pepper flakes and tomato paste. Continue to saute for one or two minutes, and then add the tomatoes and the water and soup base (or four cups stock/broth).

Bring to a simmer, and let cook for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, and blend the soup well (I use a stick blender), then stir in the sugar, balsamic vinegar and half-and-half. Salt and pepper to taste.