Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

It was a cold and icy day today, which was perfect for a cozy meal like this! I found this recipe on my Cook's Illustrated app on the iPod. You actually can't view it online because their website requires a subscription. I had been wanted to make tomato soup for a while. I made it the first year we were married but it had chunks of tomato and we don't do tomato chunks in something like this, so I think the leftovers got tossed. We won't be tossing these leftovers, I am pleased to report!

I wanted a creamy tomato recipe, and I thought it was interesting that this one accomplished the thick and creamy texture without using any heavy cream or even milk.

• 1/4 cup evoo
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread, crusts removed and torn into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 T. brandy (optional)

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. I was out of onion so I just used onion juice.

Stir in tomatoes (I used crushed tomatoes instead of whole). Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain (or used crushed tomatoes!). Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Then I pulled out my new immersion blender! Or you could use a regular blender (which is used in the actual recipe).

You can see how the soup is changing color as it is blended together...awesome!

After soup is blended, stir in chicken broth and brandy (I didn't use brandy...go figure). Return soup to a boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. We had grilled cheese sandwiches with this soup and it was tasty! I think a salad would have gone nicely too, but I didn't think of it until I was cleaning up dinner. Emma LOVED it. It came out thick and creamy, and had a nice kick to it. I think the only changes I would make next time is to maybe only use 2 cloves of garlic (it was a little garlicky) and add a tiny bit more sugar (it was still a little tart). Overall it had a very complex flavor, totally unlike the canned variety.

Rustic spinach and cornmeal soup

I saw this recipe in my Bon Appetit magazine, and it caught my eye for a couple reasons. First, I had bought a bag of coarse cornmeal to make polenta a month or so ago, and I wanted to use some of it up. Second, I had gotten some bags of spinach on sale and needed to eat them before they go bad. And third, it was "cold" today (by Miami standards, a.k.a. below 60) and who doesn't love soup on a chilly evening?

Here are the ingredients:

• 6 C. chicken broth
• 3/4 C. polenta (coarse cornmeal)
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
• kosher salt
• 8 oz. baby spinach leaves

To start, heat the broth until simmering, and whisk together the polenta and flour in a separate pot.


Add a cup of the broth to the polenta mixture, and whisk until smooth. Add the butter and smashed garlic and stir.



Slowly add the rest of the broth and simmer until the soup thickens and the cornmeal is soft (20-25 minutes). Whisk often to prevent sticking. Once the cornmeal is cooked, stir in the spinach, and let cook until wilted.


Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve!


Mmmmmm, just what I needed tonight! (but I think Evan would have liked it better with some sort of meat...) I thought there would be big chunks of garlic in the soup because I didn't chop it, but it kind of melted into everything and was delicious!

I'm super excited to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!!