Thursday, May 14, 2009

Elegant Cream of Tomato Soup

We're having a cool, spring rain; it's drizzly outside and has been for most of the week. The house feels damp. Our five cats are clamoring to go outside; they come up, stare me straight in the face and howl. You'd think they were being chased by mad dogs. If I pretend not see them, they claw at my leg, and the volume of their plaintive cries increases. Somehow they have deemed it my personal responsibility to make the sun shine again so they may frolic and romp in the new green grass and and daffodils. I tell them to see their Sweetie-Pi. Everyone pretends to ignore me.

**sigh** This is not what I had in mind when I wished I were a sun goddess.

I needed something warm and comforting, something that would make me feel pampered. I needed this Flemish Cream of Tomato Soup. Oooh, so smooth and velvety and creamy good. I still love the tomato soup with the familiar red label, don't get me wrong, but this, this is like the difference between lightening and lightening bug.

Cream of Tomato Soup
from Everyone Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook
by Ruth Van Waerebeek with Maria Robbins

5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot peeled, shredded
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, with their juices
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 to 4 cups chicken broth (two 14.5 oz cans)
3/4 cup light or whipping cream
2 to 4 tablespoons Madeira or Cognac (or more to taste!)
Black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is transparent and the carrot is soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, cayenne, and good pinch of salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Let this mixture cool slightly and then puree either in a blender, with an immersion blender, food mill, or food processor. Set aside.

Melt the remaining three tablespoons butter in the soup kettle over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly until smooth. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly with a whisk. Do not be alarmed if you have a floury mass. Continue to stir, stir, stir, adding the broth in increments. Eventually the flour will loosen into a beautiful thick white sauce. Still whisking, allow the sauce to boil up to cook off any floury taste.

Remove the soup from the sauce from the heat. Add the tomato mixture and whisk. At this point you can let the soup sit until just before serving or you can cool and refrigerate and serve the next day.

To serve, reheat the soup, but do not allow it to boil. Stir in the cream and Madeira (Cognac). Taste for seasoning, adjusting to please you.

If the soup needs to be reheated again, be careful not to bring it to a boil, as it does very unpleasant things to the cream!

Cook's Notes: I use more butter than called for, probably twice as much, for the first step.

Really, this soup is excellent without the cream or the alcohol, but I make this using Cognac, because that's what I have on hand. I enjoy the flavor it imparts; a little goes a long ways, so I start with a tablespoon, sample it, to see if I think I'd like to add a bit more. I've never made it with Madeira, but I'll bet that's nice, too.

So, I brought out a beautiful bowl, and served myself two big scoopfuls. I decorated with fresh chive and bits of diced tomato. I take a silken mouthful and look out my kitchen window past the rain, past the gray clouds. I cannot hear the kitty babies pining for sunshine. I am lost in my own reverie with a bowl of elegant cream of tomato soup to sustain me.

28 comments:

  1. This looks incredibly good. I have a taste for soup. Hummm!

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  2. It certainly is an elegant soup served in that gorgeous bowl!

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  3. How elegant and lucious looking!The perfect dish for these rainy days and I imagine it tastes delish!

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  4. This looks like another recipe that I'll have to steal - how delicious!

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  5. Sunshine in a bowl ;) Looks delish.

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  6. Katy your presentation is beautiful! I love you comparison ...lightning and lightning bug!!

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  7. Today would have been the perfect day for this soup! (wet and dreary) Would have been a good pick me up!

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  8. Wow Katy this look incedible. I'd love to have a bowl of this soup with you!

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  9. What a beautiful pic! I wanna a bowl!

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  10. Looks good, sounds good. I love the presentation!

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  11. Katy it is really cool and wet in Cincinnati, Ohio. Your soup sounds like just the perfect way to chase this weather FAR AWAY!

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  12. Tomato soup is my fav!!!! Yours looks exceptionally good!!!

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  13. Your recipes all look so yummy! Thanks for stopping by my blog so that I could find yours!

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  14. My favorite soup! Well done Katy! :)

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  15. I love tomato soup and this looks incredible! now just some grilled cheese to go with it.

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  16. Katy, this is a wonderful recipe. I don't know that cookbook, but it sounds great. Beautiful picture.

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  17. This looks so incredibly good! I've never made homemade tomato soup before, yet it is one of my favorite flavors. I'll definitely be making this one.

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  18. Katy, I hope you don't mind if I offer you an award! (it happened with others...)stop by and pick it up! Congratulations for all your yumy food!
    XO.Nina

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  19. That soup looks so good and sounds great the cream and cognac!

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  20. Very pretty presentation, it looks like there are flowers in the soup :).

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  21. I adore tomato soup. It is one of my favorite things to have for lunch. I usually buy an organic creamy tomato soup from my grocer, but I may have to try this recipe. It looks amazing and sound exactly like the kind of soup I like. Beautiful bowl, by the way! Thanks for sharing.

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  22. Sophie, the chives flower and will have a lovely purple blossom later on. Good eye. Good question. I love it! Thank you for coming by.

    Tammy, it's really a wonderful soup, as good if not better than the gourmet tomato soup that comes in the box. Plus no preservatives, which is an added bonus to my eye

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  23. Oh! And thank you for the nice compliments about my bowl. I go antiquing and thrifting and this one was one my finds. It's only one, but I figure I need only one for pictures for the blog. Grins. The shops are relieved to see them go, I am glad to purchase beautiful dishes for a very good price. BIG GRINS.

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  24. I would love a bowl of this yummy looking soup! Great looking recipe )

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  25. Your soup looks perfect I love tomato soup putting on the list of things to make.

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  26. Absolutely gorgeous. This looks like comfort in a bowl, and what a lovely picture!

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  27. We're having that type of day here today, rainy, cool and the perfect day to have this soup that looks mighty good!!

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