Restaurant-Quality Crockpot Tomato Soup Recipe

Day 242.

I hate tomato soup from the can. I hate it. I think it looks gross, smells gross, and tastes like metal. It also has wheat starch in it for some stupid reason.

Hmm. It looks like I have rather strong feelings about canned tomato soup. I should probably talk to someone about that.

But I can't seem to get enough of fancy restaurant tomato soup. It tastes much different than canned soup---it's both sweet and tangy, and the bit of cream leaves a nice velvet layer on your tongue.

This is a great way to use up a tomato surplus from your garden.

The Ingredients.

--3 lbs of vine-ripened tomatoes
--1 med onion, chopped
--2 cups tomato juice
--1 cup cooking sherry
--3 T granulated white sugar
--1 gluten-free chicken boullion cube
--2 T chopped fresh basil

to add later:
--2 cups heavy cream
--salt and pepper to taste

optional:
sour cream and/or Parmesan cheese for garnish

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart crockpot for this soup.

Wash all of your tomatoes, and cut them in quarters. Nope, we're not going to peel the tomatoes, yay! To save your counter top from tomato gook, put your cutting board on a cookie sheet with sides. The juice will then stay inside the cookie sheet.

Put all the tomatoes in your crockpot.

Chop up the onion, and add it. Cover with the tomato juice and sherry, and drop in the boullion cube. Stir in the sugar and chopped basil.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

If you'd like your soup to have chunks, go ahead and stir in the cream. If you'd prefer a chunk-free soup, CAREFULLY use an immersible blender to soupify, or blend in small batches in a traditional blender. Then stir in the heavy cream.

Eat.
Smile.

The Verdict.

We ate this with some drop biscuits and licked our bowls. My tomato-loving child thought it was a "bit too tomato-y," but ate it and my tomato-hater lapped up tons.

This is an elegant soup, perfect for a starter at a fancy dinner, or to serve with sandwiches at a tea party. Or you can stand at the counter and eat it directly out of the pot.

I'm excited for lunch.