Weeknight Creamy Tomato Soup with Bagel Croutons

I like a happy soup

So I was up to the Simmer directions of a wildly-yummy tomato soup, when my mind wandered over to the end of the directions, where it said to garnish with croutons.

I had no garnish.  Or so I thought.  Then my eyes wandered over to a few bagels leftover from breakfast.  And my mind wandered to this local deli which serves their pea soup with thinly sliced (the long way) toasted bagels.  Yup, huge but delicious.  

So while in mid-simmer (the soup, not me), I attempted to carefully try to slice a bagel as thinly as possible.  Which is harder than it sounds ... even semi-stale bagels are still soft and don't like being thinly sliced, even with my sharp bread knife. So I gave up and sliced the bagels into rounds all the way around as evenly as I could.

An attempt was made

I took the somewhat round very squashed circles, laid them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet, then quickly sprayed them with olive oil cooking spray (don't judge, this is WAY easier than brushing them with oil).  Flipped the slices and quickly spritzed them again.  You can at this point shake a little garlic powder on any plain slices, but since they started out as garlic bagels I didn't bother.

Then shoved the sheet into a 400F oven (that was only up to around 350F at the time ... I had a time-crisis) and checked them after 5 minutes.  Then left them for another minute.  

O.M.G.!   They looked silly but were crunchy and delicious!  And perfect to add to the soup ...

Oh, yeah, creamy tomato soup.  The original reason for this post.

Unlike the croutons, where as long as they are crunchy and garlicy, I am a picky when it comes to tomato soup.  Many restaurant versions (not to mention recipes) taste to me like soupy marinara sauce. 

And not in a good way. 

This soup does not taste like marinara sauce.  It it luscious, comforting, and very tomato-y.  You would never consider dumping it over pasta.   

So how did I come up with such magic?  Well, Dear Reader, the ingredients and quantities are a delicious amalgamation of like 3 or 4 different recipes, with enough tweaking and tinkering that I can call it my own with a clear conscious.  

If you prefer, you can break up the directions over two days:  after the roasting step, let the veggies cool then refrigerate, covered, up to 3 days prior.  Then continue with the recipe. 

Weeknight Roasted Creamy Tomato Soup
Make this recipe parve (dairy-free) without shame by subbing plant-based butter and oat milk for the butter and cream.

Yield: 4 servings

2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted), drained well, reserving the juices
6 cloves garlic, smashed then peeled
2 small (or 1 large) yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Vegetable stock, added to the reserved tomato juice if necessary to equal 3 cups of liquid (plus up to an additional cup, if needed)
3/4 tsp. dried thyme or dried oregano (if you use fresh, double the amount, plus a few sprigs for garnish)
2 dried bay leaves
4 Tbl. butter, (plus 2 additional tablespoons if using milk)
1/2 loosely-packed cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped (plus a few extra small leaves for garnish)
3/4 cup heavy cream (or 1 cup of whole or 2% milk)

bagel croutons (see musings above)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

Spread drained tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until all the veggies start to turn dark brown on the edges.

If you need to stop, here's the place: cool, cover and refrigerate veggies up to 3 days (also refrigerate the stock mixture).  When you are ready to continue, use veggies and stock mixture straight from the fridge.

Transfer all veggies (and stock mixture) to a deep sauce pot (6 quarts or larger).   Deeper than you think you need.  You'll thank me later.

 

Add thyme (or oregano), bay leaves, and 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes (20 to 25 minutes if roasted veggies and stock were in the fridge). 

Turn off heat.  Remove and discard bay leaves, then add chopped basil to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth or to your preference. 

Then stop to thank me when you see how much the soup attempts to splatter its way out of the pot, but can't because the deep pot contains (most of) the splatter.

 

Turn heat to low, then add cream (or milk and additional butter), heating soup for a few minutes (do not let boil).  If soup is too thick for your liking, add up to 1 cup additional veggie stock. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed. 

 

Ladle soup into bowls.  Top with basil leaves and herb sprigs if desired, and serve with bagel croutons in or alongside.

Peek-a-boo!