In the interest of serving convenient, light meals — or quick pick-me-ups — here’s a soup made from ingredients found in the pantry. Best with a grilled cheese sandwich (or even a slice of pizza — see below).
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Tbls olive oil
- 1 Tbls unsalted butter
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, smashed and peeled
- 2 Tbls flour
- 2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes (or whatever canned tomatoes you have)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 sprig thyme (if you don’t have fresh, add a pinch of dry)
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil and the butter over med-low heat until butter is melted. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until onion is soft but not brown.
- Meanwhile, puree the tomatoes and their juices in a blender.
- When onions are soft, add the flour and stir to coat the onion and garlic. Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Make sure to stir it well and get all of the flour from the bottom of the pan.
- Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Move the soup off of the heat for 10 minutes to slightly cool. Remove thyme sprig. Puree the soup in small batches in the blender (this is very important, because the hot soup will explode out of the blender if too much is added – I’ve done it!). Return soup to the pot and taste for seasoning.
The soup is even better the next day! Makes about 8 cups.