Ingredients
Serves 8 or 4 with a second serving for freezing
*this is a double batch with the intention of freezing
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
2 small/medium onions, chopped up
1 head of garlic, chopped up
1/4 cup of tomato paste
10-15 branches of thyme
4 bay leaves
20 medium tomatoes, cut up any way
salt & pepper to taste
40 cl heavy cream
Preparation
1- Chop up your onions for sauteeing. Prepare your garlic, thyme, bay leaves and tomato paste.
2- Add your butter your soup pot on medium heat and add in your onions for softening. Start cutting up your tomatoes into cubes and set aside.
3- Once your onions are soft add in your garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for just a few minutes longer before adding in your mound of tomatoes. Cover with water until all your ingredients are submerged. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30-40 minutes until our tomatoes are cooked and your flavors infused.
4- Take out your bay leaves and thyme branches before mindfully transferring your hot soup into a blender, food processor or if using an immersion blender to blend it all up.
5- Optional, I personally don’t do this step …. If you have the time and want to take this soup to the next level, sieve your soup. Use a spatula to help you push it through. You will eliminate the micro texture from the tomato skins and your soup will be that much more luxurious.
6- Once your soup is blended and put back in the soup pot, add in your cream. Taste and adjust your salt and pepper (I don’t add pepper.)
7- If you’d like to freeze your soup, fill a glass mason jar, leaving about 1.5-2 inches from the top for the soup to expand in freezing. Allow the soup to fully cool before putting the lid on and tucking it into the freezer.
*please see photos below for more detailed instructions and tips.
**ideally made during tomato season for best flavor
Step 1
Gather all ingredients. Butter, onions, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, tomatoes and heavy cream.
Prepare your first batch of ingredients for cooking. Onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and tomato paste.
I like to slice my garlic like this but any way is fine.
Melt your butter on medium heat and add in your onions. You want them to become translucent, not browned or burned.
Cut up your tomatoes in any way you'd like. For me, cubbed like this is the quickest.
Reserve them in a pile or in a bowl until they are ready for the soup pot.
Add in your tomato paste when your onions are translucent and stir it up.
Add in your tomatoes and fill with water. You may do a light salt round at this point, starting with 1-2 tsp of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Simmer for 30-40 minutes until your tomatoes are cooked through.
Make sure to take out bay leaves and thyme branches before blending the soup!
Be mindful when blending your hot soup to leave some space at the top for the heat to rise.
Blend until super smooth.
You may need to transfer your blended soup into a separate bowl to blend in batches until your soup pot is empty again.
Once the soup is back in the soup pot, add in your cream and cook for a few minutes.
Salt to taste. Your soup is ready to eat but if you put it in the fridge and let it sit overnight it will be even better the following day.
A great soup to make ahead of time!
If you want to freeze some soup, fill a mason jar leaving 1.5-2 inches of space at the top for expansion during freezing.
Pull it out of the freezer the morning of or at minimum 3 hours prior to eating (you will have to continue the de-thawing process in the pot.)
Once it's defrosted enough, slip it out into your soup pot and cover with a lid. Warm on medium low for about 20-30 until it's completely defrosted.
And there you have it! Ready to serve.
Serve simple just as is.
Serve with little polka dots of cream, swirls or any design that you are inspired to do.
Serve with my Aunt Chandra's homemade croutons.
If I serve this for guests I go for my Aunt Chandra's homemade croutons as toppings and a homemade pesto. So fresh and delicious!
This is Bistro Jeanty’s delicious tomato cream soup. If you have the chance to be in Yountville, California I highly recommend tasting this and many other dishes in the restaurant. There, they serve it with a poof of puff pastry on top. It’s so fun and so good.
For an at home soup, this is luxurious. Perfect for guests. I like to make my Aunt Chandra’s homemade croutons or a fresh walnut and parsley pesto with a baguette. Or I’ll just drop little drops of cream on top for a simple presentation.
It’s also an excellent family meal serving it with grilled cheese (a given!) or even toast with goat cheese and a green salad.
This soup is yummier the next day so it’s great to make ahead and have dinner ready the following day. I forgot to mention that it’s so easy! There are a few steps but nothing that is complicated. You can think of it like this: prep, cook, blend, serve.
My favorite time to serve this soup is at the beginning of October when we’re just hanging onto the last of the tomatoes. I always stock my freezer with a few large mason jars for a cold winter day that needs some brightness. After that, I bid farewell to this tomato soup until next season. And I’m perfectly ok with this. I love the anticipation and the knowing of at least one of the recipes I’ll be making next summer.
