Winter time is definitely my favorite time to cook and eat soup. I may live in sunny Southern California now, but this New England girl associates winter with bone chilling temperatures where sipping on hot cocoa and wrapping your hands around a mug of soup is both necessary and pleasing. The temps may not dip down into single digits here, heck they don't drop much below 50, but I promise you, it feels cold. When we head out to school in the morning and it is 46 degrees, we call my dad and have a good chuckle, as our low will likely be his high for the day. But back to soup...it warms your body and nourishes your soul and just tastes good! I have a super simple crockpot recipe for a tomato soup that is perfect for feeding a crowd or just a few. I have made double batches when there were many mouths to feed, but often it is just our little family and we have leftovers for lunch.
Creamy Tomato Soup
Place the following into a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6+ hours, (I prefer low and slow).
2 (28 ounce) cans, no salt added diced tomatoes (I use 365 Organic, Muir Glen or sometimes San Marzano)
2 - 3 stalks of celery, cleaned and cut in half (once the soup is done cooking, I throw these stalks away as I feel like it gives the soup a grainy texture if they are blended into the soup).
1 cup diced carrot (I use about 3 carrots)
1 cup diced yellow onion (I use about 1/2 of a good sized onion)
6 teaspoons Wildtree Vegetable Bouillon Soup Base
3 cups water
Once the veggies have had time to simmer away, remove the celery stalks and using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Optional:
I have made this soup using this roux as well as just pouring some fresh raw cream into the blended soup. Either way is delicious!
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I use raw butter or coconut oil for a vegan version)
2 tablespoons flour (I use GF flour)
1 cup half & half (I use raw cream or coconut, rice or almond milk - unsweetened - to make a vegan version)
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk together with the butter to make a roux. Cook the roux for 2 minutes before slowly whisking in the cream. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until it begins to thicken. Whisk the finished mixture into the soup until smooth.
Before serving, you can stir in 1/4 Wildtree Basil Pesto Sauce for added flavor or spoon some into your bowl upon serving. I always add some Pink Himalayan salt and pepper or my favorite S&P blend (Wildtree's Rancher Rub) to taste.
The above picture is a version without the cream and basil pesto sauce.
This is the 'full of cream and basil pesto goodness' version!
Happy, healthy cooking!
***This post contains links to a company I have been working with since 2008. I adapted this recipe from Wildtree's Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup recipe and made a few minor changes. www.mywildtree.com/jenwarr
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