Lily's Flavor Journal

Tomato soup is something I grew up eating and continue to enjoy when I want something simple for dinner. I’ve always been a big tomato lover and often search for recipes that are very tomato heavy.

Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that helps to lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium and vitamin K. Aside from the nutritional benefits of this recipe, it is also a nostalgic meal, especially when served with a grilled cheese. 

To serve 2:

6 tomatoes

1 yellow onion

one orange or red bell pepper

one head of garlic

basil leaves

chicken stock

heavy cream

olive oil

salt

pepper

To begin, quarter all of the above listed vegetables and place on a baking sheet. Then, drizzle olive oil and generously salt and pepper the vegetables. Roast the vegetables in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes. You can do more time depending on your preferences.

Once the vegetables are roasted to your liking, allow to cool before blending everything together with chicken stock, basil leaves and heavy whipping cream (optional).

At this point in the process, you can add seasonings including salt pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and anything else you might like to add to your soup.

After reaching a pureed consistency, you can top off with a splash of heavy cream and basil leaves for garnish.

I often choose to enjoy this meal with grilled cheese. I will usually make sourdough bread with mozzarella cheese but the grilled cheese can be customized in many different ways.

This was my first time making tomato soup from scratch and I would like to say this is one of the easiest recipes I have followed. Very minimal effort for those who are trying to get other things done around the house while preparing dinner. It also takes only 45 minutes to prepare, the roasting of the vegetables being the longest step of the entire process. My favorite part about the whole meal is the nutritional value. Several different vegetables in the soup provide nutritional benefits and this is a recipe I would like to add more vegetables into like spinach, celery and even more bell peppers. It is also too good to not have again.