Tomato Chipotle Soup

Tomato Chipotle SoupSoup is not the most summery dish but this is the best possible time to get tomatoes. The market shelves are full of plump, firm and incredibly flavourful tomatoes just waiting to be eaten. On a slightly cooler, ideally rainy, lazy afternoon or evening this is a nourishing meal to put together and leftovers can be frozen until the temperatures take a dive and the leaves start to turn. Tomatoes are famous for their lycopene content, a carotene that acts as an antioxidant in our bodies. Studies have shown it to help protect against damage from the sun’s UVA and UVB rays- kind of interesting because tomatoes are at their peak in taste at the hottest time of summer and the hotter it gets the better they taste. Nature provides lots of checks and balances for us and eating seasonally can have benefits beyond cost and convenience.

I have always loved any kind of soup, when I was little and my dad called me inside for dinner by saying “soup’s on” I was always severely disappointed when the meal was something besides soup, no matter how delicious or impressive it was. Now, it is probably my favourite thing to make. Good soup is built in several stages and every ingredient plays a part, no matter how insignificant it seems. When things get hectic and out of balance I like to go to the market and get fresh vegetables, so fresh that they have the dirt still on them, and maybe a baby worm or two inching around. At the market you get to see the pride in the farmers, to see how they gently handle the food that they grew from tiny seeds, and you get a product that was grown for flavour. At the grocery stores you get what was grown for convenience and easy transportability. Seeing the care and effort firsthand makes the food feel more precious, a link we are losing in a world of excess and tremendous amounts of food waste. When I get home I start cleaning, chopping and roasting with my favourite singers or loved ones chattering in the background. Then the kitchen becomes more and more fragrant and the big pot comes out and I feel like a druid slowly building a potion. If the combination doesn’t quite work it is easy to thin out with some extra water or broth, thicken up with some yogurt or cream, or balance the flavour with some sugar or salt. Soup made slowly like that, full of vegetables and full of nutrients is easy to digest, like a warm smoothie. I find that soup can be as nourishing to make as it is to eat. The process is a bit mindless, a bit meditative and going through the motions can be calming, then at the end of it all there is a huge pot of edible creativity made possible by a chain of people who cared about making the best possible for your table.

Heirloom tomatoes fresh from the farmer's marketHeirloom tomatoes come in a range of colours and styles and some even have a marbled pattern. I find the yellow ones to usually be the sweetest so I like to include lots of those when available.Heirloom tomatoes fresh from the farmer's marketHeirloom tomatoes ready for roastingAll chopped up for roasting- they decrease a lot in size so they can be piled messily like this.Roasted tomatoesAfter 90 minutes of roasting with some garlic cloves the tomatoes are still juicy but their flavour is greatly enhanced. Plus they smell amazing! These are also really nice in pasta with a light oil based dressing like pesto.
Roasted tomatoesMirepoixMirepoix is a blend of onion, carrot and celery. The three vegetables should be chopped roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Then they get sautéed first (or maybe with some additional spices) before the other ingredients are added in and this step provides a noticeable base layer for soups and sauces.

Layers of flavour for soupChipotle peppers are smoked dried jalapeños. They come dried whole or in deep red powder like this. They have a spicy, smokey flavour that adds some depth to the tomatoes without being too overpowering. Smoked paprika is a good substitute for a less spicy option.

Layers of flavour for soupBay leaves are a common flavouring used in soups and sauces and are removed before consuming. They are more subtle than overt spices like chipotle but play an important role in making homemade soup taste like it came from a commercial kitchen. They add a complexity and slight earthiness that amplifies the other flavours. The trick is to use relatively fresh bay leaves, they come in packets in the dried spice section and should be replaced at least once per year.Tomato Chipotle SoupIn vegetable based soups, roasting the vegetables enhances their flavour, removing the need for adding excessive amounts of sugar or salt. It doesn’t take much extra work- basically just laying the tomatoes out on a pan and stirring them every thirty minutes or so, versus just throwing them straight in the pot, but it definitely does take extra time. That’s the secret to slow food, to soul nourishing, belly warming, satisfying food- time. It takes love and attention to go through the extra steps and that added time creates an incomparable product. It is the kind of thing to make when you are stuck puttering at home baking, doing laundry, reading, crafting, movie watching, etc. since it only requires short bouts of intermittent attention. Fresh basilFresh basil goes well with tomatoes and can be used for presentation or sliced thinly and sprinkled on top for extra flavour.

Tomato Chipotle Soup
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 8
INGREDIENTS:
  • Step 1 in oven
  • 8 cups tomatoes (cherry/grape left whole, medium-sized halved and larger cut into 4 or 8)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • Step 2 on stove
  • 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil (or butter)
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons chipotle powder (or smoked paprika)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • Optional topping: fresh basil
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Step 1
  2. Preheat oven to 400°. Spread the tomatoes out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, bury the garlic under the tomatoes because it will burn if left out on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and bake for 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes so the tomatoes roast evenly and don't burn.
  3. Step 2
  4. When there are around 5 minutes left on the tomatoes heat up the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once warmed add in the onion, celery, carrot and chipotle powder and sautée for around 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the celery and carrot are softened. If the base of the pot gets too dry add in a tablespoon or two of the broth as needed.
  5. Add in the tomatoes, garlic, broth and bay leaves and bring to a raging boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the bay leaves and blend with a handheld or stand-up blender. If using a stand-up only do a bit at a time or let it cool before blending, if you put too much hot liquid in a blender it will shoot up forcefully and make a huge mess worthy of a dramatic paper towel commercial.
  7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to a few months.

Tomato Chipotle SoupHeirloom Cherry TomatoFarm to table.

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