Super Red Cream of Tomato Soup

To me, tomato is the epitome of summer. Bright, fresh and succulent, produce like this are a handful of things I look forward to in a dessert summer. Sliced, crushed, chopped, or stewed, its amazing how this fruit transforms a dish, nevertheless how its used.

Almost all our repertoires have a recipe for tomato soup. I have one too. The issue I initially faced was the colour. However red the tomato was, after cooking and straining the colour fades a bit. Add a carrot for body, it becomes orangish. Not that its unattractive, but I was looking for the fiery red that I start with. If only I could get a food colour. And the answer was lying in my vegetable crisper – beetroot.

You may have known this before, but it was a quite a find to me. Now I can make soup that looks as good as it tastes. In addition to adding the bright colour, beetroot also gives a faint earthy sweetness. But don’t go overboard, otherwise you will end up a purplish concoction.

This soup, thickened with a roux, tastes great whether served hot or cold. Serve with a salad for a light lunch or crusty bread/ crispy cracker for a light dinner.

Cream of Tomato Soup
(serves 2)

Tomatoes – 4, big, diced
Carrot – 1, small, diced
Shallots or leeks or red onion – ¼ cup, chopped
Celery – 1 stalk, chopped
Beet root – 2 tbsp, chopped
Green chilli – 1 or 2, chopped
Garlic – 3 cloves, chopped
Ginger – 1 inch piece, chopped
Cinnamon stick – 2 inches
Bay leaf – 1
Salt

Butter – ½ tbsp
All purpose flour – 1 tbsp
Low fat milk – about 2/3 cup
Freshly cracked pepper

Method

Take the ingredients listed above, from tomatoes through salt in a vessel and pressure cook until 2 whistles. Alternately, boil in a saucepan with ½ cup of water, for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables soft. Let cool. Fish out the bay leaf and cinnamon. Grind to a smooth paste and sieve. Don't use a sieve with fine holes, since we want the pulp to get through. Press hard and strain the juice and pulp, leaving only the skin and seeds of the tomato. Reserve the vegetable pulp.

In a sauce pan, melt butter over low flame and add the flour. Mix the flour thoroughly in the fat and let it toast for a minute to change color. When the flour turns light brown and smells toasty, pour milk while simultaneously stirring the contents of the sauce pan. Make sure there are no lumps and let the milk heat up. The milk will gently bubble and thicken up slightly. When that happens, add the tomato pulp, and mix thoroughly. Continue heating over low-medium flame, adding water if necessary. When the soup almost reaches a boil, switch off.

Check for seasoning and serve hot with freshly cracked pepper. Otherwise, cool completely on the counter and transfer to the refrigerator and cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold with a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

Velvety cream of tomato soup ‘2’ in 1-in-3 - Cold Soups.

25 comments:

amna said...

TH loves tomato soup and because of that I am apprehensive to try it. What if he tastes it and doesn't like it? I used to make orange tomato soups in Hyd too, adding beet is such an obvious thing yet even I didn't think of it till I read your post :)

Shobana senthilkumar said...

Hi suganya,
ur tomato soup is tempting me very badly:)phew...wat a presentation..its amazing.

sunita said...

Beautiful soup sug...love the addition of beets :-)

Susan said...

Beets are a great idea to maintain that red glow. Mashed potato, BTW, is an excellent thickener if you wanted to forgo the roux.

A few more weeks, and our beefsteaks will be ripe for the picking. : )

Priya said...

Never thought of kick starting it with the roux...would add some cornstarch/flour in the end if I had to thicken it. This sounds a lot better, need to hit the farmers market early tomorrow morning to lay my hands on good tomatoes.

Kalva said...

Wow what a big burst of color.. Love the flaovors too Awesome pics dear

Shreya said...

HI..great soup! my mother always uses beet in veg soups just for the color!:-) great pics as always..

Tee said...

Wow! Loks so appetizing! I have always had this problem of color with tomato soup and what a simple and healthy solution! Loved it :)

Sangeeth said...

iam drooling already

Cynthia said...

I must remember this tip the next time I make tomato soup.

ushaprashanth said...

Hi suganya!!!!!!!!
Pics are absolutely amazing!!!!Very good recipe !!!

Priyanka said...

lovely soup entrees...Your corn pancake recipe is just delicious. great pics as usual

Anonymous said...

Awesome tomato soup!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

This soup's a favourite with my husband and daughter. Didn't know the beetroot trick.
Thanks for that tip.

Sig said...

Beets for the color, great idea! Thanks Suganya!

vandana rajesh said...

Hi suganya Yummy soup and great pics:)

Vibaas said...

Looks really velvetty

Sonia said...

Hi Suganya, first time to ur blog. U have created a wonderful blog. I love ur Cream of Tomato Soup. nice pixs too. it's just diff frm any other.
Thanks for sharing.
Sonu:)

Anonymous said...

This soup is so beautiful, and it sounds really tasty and nutritious too! I'm really not too fond of beets, but perhaps I could trick myself into eating them with this lovely dish.

Priya said...

Hey Sug, me made this soup last night hoping it would last be a couple of nights for dinner. I just had the last spoonful for lunch now, it was too yummy :))thank you :)

Usha said...

Love tomato soup and yours looks really delicious,the addition of beet to this is a very unique and interesting idea :)

Sia said...

simply gorgeous colour...

Padma said...

Nice idea of using beets for the color

Bharathy said...

Tried the soup yesterday night for dinner!..
It was a hit!..perfect recipe!..and a keeper :)

Somehow I didnt get the rich red colour like yours(may be dif in quality of tomatoes)..tasted awesome though!(served as a hot soup)
..and should I mention that I will be making the soup frequently?? :)

Thanks a lot, Sugi :)

Jeanne said...

Oh wow - who would have thought - beetroot to keep your tomatoe soup redder!! Clever. I love the idea of this on a cold winter evening with crusty bread...

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