Summer Tomato Soup

I love tomatoes.

Growing up, we always had them in the garden. I can remember walking the rows on the farm with my grandmother, picking tomatoes and eating entirely too many along the way. Honestly, I probably ate as many as I picked.

And her BLTs were incredible.

Nothing fancy. Lightly toasted white bread slathered with mayo, then her little trick: a tiny swipe of mustard. Crunchy bacon and thick slices of fresh tomato.

That was it.

To this day, there is something about a really good summer tomato that tastes like childhood to me.

So when tomatoes are actually good, the kind that smell like tomatoes before you even cut into them, I want to use them in everything.

Which is how we ended up here.

A big pot of Summer Tomato Soup filled with fresh tomatoes, cannellini beans, kale, basil, a little orzo and, apparently, four large carrots.

Four Carrots, Apparently

The four carrots were not a carefully considered recipe decision.

Here's one of my favorite soup tricks: when I'm already chopping mirepoix, I chop extra. Carrots, celery and onions. I'm already standing there with a knife and cutting board, so I might as well do enough for the next few pots of soup. I portion the extra into serving sizes and freeze them. Future Brooke can grab a bag, dump it into a pot and get dinner started.

That was what I was supposed to be doing.

I was standing in the kitchen talking to Hope, happily chopping carrots. Chop, chop, chop.

Except instead of putting the extra carrots into the bowl to freeze for later, I kept throwing them into the soup pot. By the time I realized what I was doing, I'd put four large carrots in the soup.

Welp. We're having carrots. Turns out, they were perfect.

They gave the soup this hearty fullness that made me completely forget we'd originally talked about adding chicken sausage. Between all those carrots and the cannellini beans, it didn't need meat.

So yes, the recipe officially calls for four carrots now.

Sometimes recipes are developed through careful testing.

Sometimes you miss the meal-prep bowl and accidentally improve dinner.

Here Is the Thing About Soup

Soup does not need perfection.

Throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, add liquid and voilà. You made soup.

I think we need to stop freaking out over ingredients.

Want meat in this? Cool. Add some mild Italian chicken sausage.

Have zucchini sitting in the fridge that needs to be used? Cool. Throw it in.

Only have mozzarella and not Parmesan? Cool.

Only have the shaker cheese Parmesan? COOL.

Recipes are a starting place. They are not legally binding contracts.

Use what you have. Taste your food. Add more of something if you like it. Leave something out if you don't.

It's your soup.

The only thing I'm going to be weirdly specific about is the kale.

Four minutes.

We tested it. It was perfect.

Nobody wants overcooked shrubbery.

Summer Tomato Soup.pdf

Download PDF • 759KB

Summer Tomato Soup Recipe

Fresh summer tomatoes, creamy cannellini beans, plenty of carrots, tender kale, fresh basil and a little orzo in a light, garlicky broth. It's hearty and filling without needing meat.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ medium onion, chopped

• 1 celery rib, chopped

• 4 large carrots, sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 lbs Roma tomatoes, diced

• 4–6 cups chicken broth

• 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• ½–1 tsp Cavender's Greek Seasoning, yellow container

• ½ cup dry orzo

• 2–3 cups chopped kale, thick stems removed

• ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil, thinly sliced

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

• Extra-virgin olive oil, optional for finishing

Instructions

1. Build the vegetable base

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften.

2. Bring on the garlic

Add the garlic and cook for 30–60 seconds, until fragrant.

3. Cook the tomatoes

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute.

Add the diced tomatoes and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, allowing the tomatoes to begin breaking down and releasing their juices.

4. Make it soup

Add 4 cups chicken broth, the drained cannellini beans and ½ teaspoon Cavender's Greek Seasoning.

Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.

5. Cook the orzo

Add the dry orzo and cook according to the package directions, stirring frequently so it doesn't stick to the bottom.

6. Add the kale for the final 4 minutes

When the orzo has 4 minutes of cooking time remaining, stir in the chopped kale.

Four minutes. We tested it. It was perfect.

The kale gets tender without becoming overcooked shrubbery.

7. Adjust the broth

Add additional chicken broth as needed until the soup is as brothy as you like it.

The orzo is a tiny delicious sponge and will continue soaking up broth.

Taste and add more Cavender's if needed, up to about 1 teaspoon total. Taste again before adding salt because the broth, Cavender's and Parmesan are already bringing salt.

8. Add the fresh basil

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in about two-thirds of the fresh basil. Save the rest for serving.

Do not cook the hell out of it. We want that fresh summer basil flavor.

9. Serve

Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan, the remaining fresh basil and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Finish with a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil if you want.

Notes

Yes, four carrots: It sounds like a lot. It isn't. We know how they got there now, and we're sticking with them. They give the soup body and help make it hearty and filling without adding meat.

Tomatoes: Don't have Roma tomatoes? Use whatever fresh tomatoes look fantastic. This is summer tomato soup. Good tomatoes matter more than the variety.

Broth: Start with 4 cups and keep another 1–2 cups nearby. The orzo will absorb broth while it cooks and continue absorbing it as the soup sits.

Leftovers: The soup will be thicker tomorrow because the orzo keeps soaking up broth. Add a splash of chicken broth when reheating until it looks like soup again.

Want meat anyway? Cool. Mild Italian chicken sausage would work beautifully. It's your soup.

Different vegetables? Also cool. Use what you have and what you like.

No Parmesan? Mozzarella? Cool. Shaker Parmesan? COOL. Nobody is coming to inspect your cheese.

Cavender's: Yellow container. Obviously. The blue container has no business here.

Recipes are a starting place. They are not legally binding contracts.

Make the soup you want to eat.