My Best Tomato Soup, Scaled Up

I often feel like a tiny speck of nothingness on this planet, but I never feel physically smaller than when I’m at Costco, dragging a cart twice the width of a coffin around the warehouse. On the last trip, I decided that what I needed to buy (aside from a bag of six avocados, 50 pounds of salt, and two pounds of garlic) was a 106-ounce can of Nina Whole Tomatoes for $6.

“I’ll make a lot of tomato soup,” I told myself. The can was cute: I liked the look of Nina, sunbathing in the Italian sun, while her (multiple) lovers wondered where the hell she was, and I thought that after making a vat of tomato soup, I could turn the can into a planter, or a bathroom trash can, or something. There’s no confidence like that of the casual DIYer.

As for the tomato soup, I wanted something classic. The ideal is a soup that is reminiscent of Campbell’s, but better. Smooth, creamy, rich in tomato flavor.

My favorite recipe is from Abra Beren’s phenomenal cookbook, Vegetable Lover Ruffage, where it’s a version of a confit garlic recipe (page 218). You’d almost turn the page and miss it if you weren’t paying attention. But the simple recipe makes an unforgettable soup. Part of that is the presence of red pepper flakes, whose spiciness brings the tomato to life, while being tempered by a good dose of cream. (I think cream is necessary with tomato soup to reduce the acidity. If you’re dairy-free, add a large potato or two! Seriously, it makes pureed soups so creamy.) But the confit garlic is the real secret. It provides a deep roasted flavor and a sweet garlic flavor that you can’t deny.

After making tomato soup, I spent a week enjoying it in different ways: with grilled cheese for dinner and with a side of Cheez-Its for lunch. I added avocado one day and crispy chili the next. When I discovered wilted spinach in the refrigerator, I chopped it up and added it to the soup. If you want to increase the protein content, you can add a little cottage cheese or a tablespoon of white beans. If you’re a dreamer, could you consider buttered popcorn as croutons?

I modified Abra’s recipe, added tomato paste to enhance the tomato flavor, and expanded it to an absurd 106 ounces of tomatoes. (That’s up from seven of the usual 14.5-ounce cans.) There are only two of us at home, my husband and I, but after a Sunday making soup, I now have a stock of soup in the freezer, waiting for a winter season. Michigan Night. Of which I will have plenty.

In case this is too much soup for you, I included a mini ingredient list below the big one. Same method.

Large Format Tomato Soup

4 oz butter (1 stick)
2 ½ teaspoons red chili flakes
10 sprigs of thyme
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
1 106 ounces. can whole tomatoes
5 cups of water
5 heads (approximately 130 grams) of garlic confit
2 tablespoons salt and more to taste
2 cups heavy cream, plus more as needed for happiness

Confit the garlic. Preheat the oven to 250°. Leave the skins on, but cut a pinch off the top of the 5 heads of garlic (to make them easier to remove later) and place them in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and dip in neutral oil (I use avocado, you know where I bought it). Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil and roast for 1-2 hours. They should be golden brown and soft when done. When it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlicky goo out of its slippery layers and put it into a bowl to make the soup. Save the oil (two weeks is the safe zone) for garlic bread or salad dressing.

Soup time. In a large pot, and I mean large, melt the butter. When foamy, add the chili flakes and thyme, stirring for 1 minute. Then add the tomato paste and stir occasionally, until brick red and beginning to caramelize, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes (I put them in a ladle to avoid splatters at the crime scene), water, garlic and salt. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer, stirring here and there, for about 20 minutes. Remove the pot of soup from the heat and do something while it cools; I suggest a nice long bath and a nap. Then blend the soup in batches (yes, take out the thyme sprigs), returning the smooth, blended soup to the pot so it all blends happily. Taste and add salt if necessary. Add the cream now and serve, or store the soup in the refrigerator/freezer and add the cream to an individual bowl.

Tomato Soup Normal Format
2 ounces (55 g) butter
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
5 sprigs of thyme
1 6 ounces. can tomato paste
3 14.5 ounces. cans of whole tomatoes
2 cups of water
10 cloves of garlic confit (55g)
1 cup heavy cream

Adapted from Tomato Garlic Soup in Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, by Abra Berens.

PS: The vegetarian lasagna that we can’t stop making and the OG tomato sandwich.