Recipe: Fresh tomato soup uses only five ingredients
This fresh tomato soup captures the peak flavor of ripe tomatoes and is easy to make. Debbie Arrington
What’s more Sacramentan than tomato soup? We didn’t get our Big Tomato nickname for nothing.
For generations, Campbell Soup made its famous tomato soup right here, using locally grown tomatoes.
And soup is an ideal use for late-season, really ripe, really juicy tomatoes; they’re packed with so much juice, this soup barely needs any extra liquid.
Fresh tomato soup requires very little seasoning; just a few dashes of garlic salt to complement the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. The food processor, blender or food mill makes it nice and smooth; no advance peeling necessary.
Fresh tomato soup
Makes 2 large bowls or 4 cups
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
½ cup onion, finely chopped
4 cups tomatoes, chopped
¼ to 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
½ cup water
Instructions:
In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Over medium heat, saute onion until soft.
Add chopped tomatoes including any juice. Sprinkle with garlic salt and stir. Cover pan and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are very, very soft, about 20 to 30 minutes.
In a food processor, blender or food mill, process tomato mixture until smooth. Return tomato mixture to pan and add water (a little more if needed).
Warm soup until it just starts to boil. Serve immediately.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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Garden Checklist for week of March 16
Make the most of dry breaks between showers. Your garden is in high-growth mode.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.
* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch-thick under the tree (but avoid piling it up around the trunk). This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cauliflower, broccoli, collards and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground. (To speed germination, soak beet seeds overnight in room-temperature water before planting.)
* Before the mercury starts inching upward, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.