From Soup…
“Filet steaks with blue cheese butter, those lentils you make, and brussels sprouts like we had for Thanksgiving.”
Everyone here gets a birthday dinner full of their favorite foods, from soup to nuts, and this was my son’s answer to the question, “Have you given any thought to your birthday dinner?”
“Oh, and I’d like a soup,” he added, “to start.”
What kind of soup? I wondered.
“Anything. Well, anything as long as it isn’t weird.”
“So no curried cauliflower soup?” I confirmed with a smile. I know that, for him, weird sometimes means curried cauliflower. “So what isn’t a weird soup? Can you give me some guidance.” This should be the birthday’s person’s choice after all.
My son shrugged. “You know. Mushroom. Onion. Leek and potato. Regular soup, like those ones. Only not those.”
Again I understood. We had had all of these on cold weeknights within the last two weeks. Ben’s birthday soup must not be something served for a weeknight supper, but still a standard, a member of the canon of soups, if you will.
I had to go with tomato. If tomato soup isn’t canon-worthy, then nothing is. I even managed to work in the taste of its equally classic grilled cheese accompaniment. Check out how.
Ben’s Birthday Soup with Cheese Focaccia Croutons (serves 4, with one bowl leftover for the next day)
- 12 homemade croutons
- 1 head of garlic
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. dry sherry (or balsamic vinegar)
- 2 cups vegetable stock, plus 1/4 cup additional (chicken stock may be substituted)
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, optional
Step one: Croutons
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Remember that cheese and garlic focaccia you made with me the other day? Cut one 3/4-inch by 9-inch slice from the loaf. (Of course, if you didn’t make the focaccia along with me, feel free to use any other lovely bread you have on hand, cheese bread if possible). Cut this slice into 12 equal cubes.
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium high heat. Skillet should be oven proof. When the oil gets shimmery looking, place the croutons in the pan in a single layer. Brown one side, then turn and brown the other.
When both sides have turned golden brown, pop the skillet into the oven and set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and the croutons from the pan. Set on brown paper or paper towels to drain. Set aside.
Step Two: Roasted garlic
Leave the oven on and set it to 350 degrees. Cut the top off a good, firm head of garlic, leaving the root end intact. Peel away as much of the outer papery skin as possible while still leaving the garlic cloves within their individual husks.
Place the prepared head of garlic into a small baking dish. The fit should be close without being too snug. Add to the dish about 1/4 cup of vegetable (or chicken) stock and a splash of olive oil.
Cover the top of the baking dish with aluminum foil and wrap it tightly. Set the baking dish in the oven for an hour, or until you can pierce very soft cloves of garlic easily with a sharp knife.
Remove the garlic from the baking dish and let cool slightly on a chopping board. When cool enough to handle, take the head of garlic apart, clove by clove, and squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of the husks. Once you have removed it all, use the flat end of a chef’s knife and smash the garlic into a smooth paste. Set aside.
Step Three: Putting it all together
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Add to the olive oil the onions, carrots and celery and saute until the onions soften but do not brown. Add to this the garlic paste and stir to combine well. Add 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. dry sherry (or balsamic vinegar). Stir to combine. Add 2 cups of vegetable (or chicken) stock, cover the pot. Bring the liquid to the boil then reduce the heat and maintain a simmer (still covered) until all the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
Stir in 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes (not sauce, not puree). One quart of fresh crushed tomatoes may be substituted in season. Continue to simmer the soup for a few minutes and taste to correct the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. At this time you may also throw in a few basil leaves that have been shredded or chiffonaded, or use no herbs at all.
Remove the pot from the heat. Using a stick blender right in the saucepan (or a stand blender, working in batches), puree the soup until very smooth. If soup seems too thick for your taste, thin it with a few tablespoons of water, or extra stock if you have some. Return the soup to the heat using a low flame, and heat the soup through for serving.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish each serving with 3 cheese croutons. Serve immediately.
©2011 Jane A. Ward
Now that’s tomato soup I’d like to make! Yum.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Pingback: Tweets that mention From Soup… « Food and Fiction -- Topsy.com
I just came in from shoveling slush……….too bad I can’t reach right in to the computer and grab that bowl of soup! Looks delicious!
Glad you think so. I’m about to shovel and wish I had some soup to look forward to after. What’s on your menus these days?
Oh wow, I’ve been searching for a great tomato soup recipe for a while. I think I’ve found it!
Fingers crossed. Let me know what you think.
I have recently started loving lentils and brussel sprouts but need some guidance with recipes. Would you please share your famous family-loved birthday wished recipes for them? Also very excited to make the tomato soup for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I hope you like the soup as much as we did. Sure, I can publish the recipes for sprouts and lentils. Look for them before the end of the week.
On a related note, I think it’s about time for me to do an updated index of recipes, so readers can look for that in the next few days as well!
Should I look in the new recipe section for the sprouts and lentil recipes? Also where can I buy 00 flour? Jpace or Whole foods?
Hi Stephanie-Perfect timing on your question: I just posted the entry on lentils and sprouts. And yes, it’s now going in the index too, so it will be there for future reference.
I order the 00 flour through King Arthur. They sell it as “Italian Artisan Flour” I think. (They do a “European Artisan Flour” too, which is not quite the same thing.) Whole Foods might sell it, perhaps in their bulk section. Pace might sell it. I haven’t been in there in years, though, so can’t say for certain. King Arthur is always my go-to for baking supplies, and I’ve gotten to the point where I like to get everything on my doorstep rather than crossing my fingers and hoping someone sells what I need before I make several car trips.