Thread: Homemade tomato soup?

Kajikit wrote:
> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> tonight.
>
> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> stock in the pantry if it's really required.

Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
for peeling?
I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
and soups so I would peel or mill them first.

JMHO.

Tracy

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:

>Kajikit wrote:
>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
>> tonight.
>>
>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
>
>Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
>for peeling?
>I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
>and soups so I would peel or mill them first.

I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!

Kajikit wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Kajikit wrote:
>>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
>>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
>>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
>>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
>>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
>>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
>>> tonight.
>>>
>>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
>>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
>>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
>> Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
>> for peeling?
>> I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
>> and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
>
> I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!


Looks like this

http://www.greatknives.com/Mouli%20p...l%202%20lg.jpg

The pulp goes through but the skin stays behind....

-Tracy

Kajikit wrote:
> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> tonight.
>
> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> stock in the pantry if it's really required.


There are so many recipes because it's hard to screw it up :-)

I might do something like this (making it up as I go, but that's how I
cook):

Slice the tomatoes and cook them in the chicken stock (along with
whatever spices, like bayleaf) until the tomatoes fall apart. Break
them up with a whisk or stick blender, then remove the skins and seeds
with a sieve (mash the pulp thru with the back of a spoon) or food mill.

Saute some minced onion in butter until they are soft, add a little
flour and cook briefly to make a light roux. Add the tomato stock, a
pinch of sugar, and maybe some celery seeds and/or basil and/or dried
parsley. S&P and a dash of cayenne to taste. Stir in a little cream or
"half and half" before serving.

Bob

Tracy wrote:
>
> Kajikit wrote:
> > On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> Kajikit wrote:
> >>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> >>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> >>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> >>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> >>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> >>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> >>> tonight.
> >>>
> >>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> >>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> >>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
> >> Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
> >> for peeling?
> >> I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
> >> and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
> >
> > I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!
>
> Looks like this
>
> http://www.greatknives.com/Mouli%20p...l%202%20lg.jpg
>
> The pulp goes through but the skin stays behind....
>
> -Tracy

Yes, they're quite handy items. I like them for separating pepper pulp
from skins for sauces or chili.

In article <go1p08$lm3$[email protected]>, Tracy <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Kajikit wrote:
> > On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> Kajikit wrote:
> >>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> >>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> >>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> >>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> >>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> >>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> >>> tonight.
> >>>
> >>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> >>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> >>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
> >> Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
> >> for peeling?
> >> I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
> >> and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
> >
> > I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!
>
>
> Looks like this
>
> http://www.greatknives.com/Mouli%20p...l%202%20lg.jpg
>
> The pulp goes through but the skin stays behind....

Or just a sieve with a wooden spoon:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-7-Inc...r/dp/B00004SU1
M/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1235516660&sr=1-22

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]

"Kajikit" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Kajikit wrote:
>>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
>>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
>>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
>>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
>>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
>>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
>>> tonight.
>>>
>>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
>>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
>>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
>>
>>Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
>>for peeling?
>>I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
>>and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
>
> I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!

You have to use a food mill of some kind to remove the skins and the seeds.
To avoid massive cerebral trauma fill a roasting pan with the tomatoes and
roast them at about 275F for 1-1.5 hours, or until the tomatoes are soft.
DON'T throw out the small amount of liquid that accumulates in the bottom of
the roaster pan. That "tomato stock" gets added to whatever you're cooking.
Milling the tomatoes when they are soft makes all of this ten times easier
and you capture a much larger fraction of the whole tomato for your soup. I
use a Bialetti power strainer that's sold exclusively for this purpose. I
don't think it's available in the US anymore. Any mill type device will work
that will keep the seeds out.

Good Luck to you. Once you have your fresh tomato sauce you'll never be the
same. It will haunt you every time you open a can of tomatoes.

Ed

Kajikit wrote:
>
> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> tonight.
>
> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> stock in the pantry if it's really required.

If they are true baby romas, the peels should be relatively tender and
not require removal. Unless you hate having them in the soup of course


Wash and cut up the tomatoes into chunks. Could roast them first if a
bit of poshness is desired. Saute the thinly-sliced carrots and onions
in some olive oil (if you have that) or butter. When softened add the
garlic and soften (not browned) that too. Add the tomatoes and the
chicken stock. Taste for saltiness; tinned stock can be quite salty. Add
herbs of choice; basil or rosemary are good. Simmer until everything is
cooked through. Splash of wine if that's going spare. If needed, strain
the soup but hey that's more work. Top with grated cheese.

Dan Abel wrote:
>
> In article <go1p08$lm3$[email protected]>, Tracy <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > Kajikit wrote:
> > > On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Kajikit wrote:
> > >>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> > >>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> > >>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> > >>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> > >>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> > >>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> > >>> tonight.
> > >>>
> > >>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> > >>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> > >>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
> > >> Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
> > >> for peeling?
> > >> I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
> > >> and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
> > >
> > > I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!
> >
> >
> > Looks like this
> >
> > http://www.greatknives.com/Mouli%20p...l%202%20lg.jpg
> >
> > The pulp goes through but the skin stays behind....
>
> Or just a sieve with a wooden spoon:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-7-Inc...r/dp/B00004SU1
> M/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1235516660&sr=1-22

Yes, certainly that method works, but if you need to do this with any
regularity the food mill is vastly faster and more thorough.

Kajikit wrote:
> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
> tonight.
>
> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
> stock in the pantry if it's really required.

I'm a little late for your dinner but you might want to save the recipe.
Although it calls for canned Romas, it's easy to use fresh. Cut a small
X in the base of each tomato, drop them in boiling water for a minute or
so, then into cold. You can then easily peel off the skins. To me the
soup is delicious and I've made it many times.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Creamy Tomato Soup

-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion -- peeled and chopped
1 carrot -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped
1 28 oz. can Italian plum tomatoes -- peeled
3 cups chicken broth -- defatted
1 small potato -- peeled, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 cup milk

Melt butter in a soup pot over low heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic.
Cook, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables
are tender and wilted.

Crush tomatoes in their liquid and add to the pot along with chicken
broth, potato, basil, nutmeg and salt. Cook, covered, over low heat for
40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temperature.

Purée using a hand blender, adding milk in batches. Adjust seasonings.
Before serving, warm through over very low heat. Do not boil.

NOTES: I added a rounded tablespoon of sugar, to offset the acidity of
the tomatoes.
Source:
"News clipping from old Sunday newspaper"

Dora

"Tracy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:go1p08$lm3$[email protected]..
> Kajikit wrote:
>> On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Kajikit wrote:
>>>> I bought three and a half pounds of baby roma tomatoes for 50c a pound
>>>> and I want to make them into soup... but I've never done tomato soup
>>>> before! Looking up recipes on google is just making me more confused
>>>> because some of them say to peel them first, some use them whole, some
>>>> put them through a food mill, some use roux, some use chicken stock
>>>> etc etc. I need a really nice SIMPLE recipe I can whip up for dinner
>>>> tonight.
>>>>
>>>> And no celery - we don't have any! I've got fresh tomatoes, onions,
>>>> carrots, potato and fresh garlic in the cupboard and a can of chicken
>>>> stock in the pantry if it's really required.
>>> Not much help but if you have a food mill won't that eliminate the need
>>> for peeling?
>>> I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
>>> and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
>>
>> I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!
>
>
> Looks like this
>
> http://www.greatknives.com/Mouli%20p...l%202%20lg.jpg
>
> The pulp goes through but the skin stays behind....
>
> -Tracy


I have to use something like that since I have to avoid the seeds, too.

Jill

On 2009-02-25, Theron <[email protected]> wrote:

> Good Luck to you. Once you have your fresh tomato sauce you'll never be the
> same. It will haunt you every time you open a can of tomatoes.

Depends on how good the tomatoes you start with.

nb

notbob <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 2009-02-25, Theron <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Once you have your fresh tomato sauce you'll never be the
>> same. It will haunt you every time you open a can of tomatoes.

>Depends on how good the tomatoes you start with.

Correct. We go through about 20 or 30 lbs of good tomatoes during
tomato season and freeze another 20. That does not meet all
tomato needs and sometimes we use canned, jarred, or boxed tomato
products and this does not really "haunt" us.

I'm curious though why frozen tomatoes are not marketed, or
at least I've never seen them. For sauce, they are just about
as good as the same tomatoes fresh.

Steve

Steve Pope wrote:
> notbob <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On 2009-02-25, Theron <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> Once you have your fresh tomato sauce you'll never be the
>>> same. It will haunt you every time you open a can of tomatoes.
>
>> Depends on how good the tomatoes you start with.
>
> Correct. We go through about 20 or 30 lbs of good tomatoes during
> tomato season and freeze another 20. That does not meet all
> tomato needs and sometimes we use canned, jarred, or boxed tomato
> products and this does not really "haunt" us.
>
> I'm curious though why frozen tomatoes are not marketed, or
> at least I've never seen them. For sauce, they are just about
> as good as the same tomatoes fresh.
>
> Steve

Unfortunately, tomatoes don't freeze well.
Dora

Dora <[email protected]> wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> Correct. We go through about 20 or 30 lbs of good tomatoes during
>> tomato season and freeze another 20.

>Unfortunately, tomatoes don't freeze well.

We get excellent results but it depends on the type of tomato
and what you want to do with it. My partner does this project
for the most part, but there are three versions that she freezes:
plain frozen whole tomatoes; strained tomatoes; and slightly-oven-dried
tomatoes. The best results are with Early Girls, which is
what we are using almost exclusively for this.

Steve

"Dora"ha scritto nel messaggio

> Unfortunately, tomatoes don't freeze well. Dora

I think they do if they are cooked and pureed either coarse (passata) or
fine (juice.) I prefer it to any other preservation method.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Dora" <[email protected]> wrote:
(snip)
> Creamy Tomato Soup
(snip)
> NOTES: I added a rounded tablespoon of sugar, to offset the acidity of
> the tomatoes.
> Dora

Dora, next time instead of adding sugar, when the soup is quite hot and
on the stove, sprinkle on the barest dusting of baking soda to
neutralize some of the acid in the tomatoes. Stir it and watch it
bubble as the soda works on the acid.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Glorified Rice 2-24-2009

Giusi wrote:
> "Dora"ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>> Unfortunately, tomatoes don't freeze well. Dora
>
> I think they do if they are cooked and pureed either coarse (passata)
> or fine (juice.) I prefer it to any other preservation method.

I had good luck with frozen cooked tomatoes. Anytime I experimented
with cutting raw tomatoes and freezing them I must have done something
wrong - they simply separated into water and mush. Looked very
unappetizing.

In article <[email protected]>,
Kajikit <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:17 -0500, Tracy <[email protected]> wrote:

> >I have never made homemade tomato soup but I detest the skins in sauces
> >and soups so I would peel or mill them first.
>
> I don't have one and I don't even know what it is!

<http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=361>
Good for pureeing fruit, too; it's indispensable to me when I make fruit
butter or applesauce.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Glorified Rice 2-24-2009