When it's Snowing Outside- Eat Creamy Tomato Soup

Last summer, I bottled litres and litres of tomatoes- perfect for making this winter comfort soup.  Your kitchen will erupt with the summer smells of fresh, fruity tomatoes...

Creamy tomato soup garnished with fresh tomatoes

This recipe will serve six.


Ingredients
1 tbsp     unsalted butter
1 tbsp     extra-virgin olive oil
1             medium onion, very thinly sliced
3 cloves  garlic, smashed
5 cups     canned whole tomatoes in their juice (from three 14oz cans)
               I used 1.5 litres of homemade passata (crushed tomatoes)
2 cups      water (or homemade chicken broth)
2/3 cup   heavy cream
1 tbsp     sugar
1/4 tsp    crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp    celery seed
1/2 tsp    dried oregano
1 tbsp     tomato paste (optional, use if you want more tomato flavour)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter in 1 tbsp olive oil until sizzling.  Add the onion and smashed garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about five minutes.  Add the tomatoes (or the passata), the water, heavy cream, sugar, red pepper, celery seed and oregano and season with salt and pepper.  Add tomato paste, is using.  Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.  Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer the tomato soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth  Return to a clean pot and rewarm if necessary.  Season with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls.  If you like, you can top the soup with croutons (homemade is best) or a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley or basil.

Wanna play?
You can add lentils, chickpeas, rice or noodles to your soup.  You can omit the cream to cut back on calories or use milk instead.

Enjoy!