Tomato soup is a staple for many households as soon as the weather gets cold in autumn and winter. While supermarkets are stocked with this tinned food, it’s easy to make yourself at home, and it will most likely taste better.
Having cooked many recipes that claim to be the best homemade tomato soup recipe out there, Jennifer Pallian, who has a food science background, came up with something better that has the perfect combination of sweet and mild and creamy but not heavy. She took to her blog Foodess, saying: “It truly reminds me of a homemade (much tastier) canned tomato soup. Perfect with a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches to dunk.” It is thickened with flour, the acidity of the tomatoes is mellowed, and it’s creamy, but there’s no cream. In this recipe, there’s one “amazing” ingredient Jennifer says to add to improve the flavour and texture – baking soda.
Adding a bit of baking soda makes the tomatoes “taste sweeter” by cancelling out the sourness.
This ingredient also allows you to use milk in your tomato soup recipe without it curdling. If you don’t use baking soda, you’ll need to use a higher-fat dairy to avoid it separating with the heat and acidic tomatoes.
What’s more, when you add baking soda, the tomatoes and onions will “become super soft”, so that when you blend the soup, you’ll have “the best, most silky, creamy texture ever”.
You only need a tiny amount of baking soda in this recipe – approximately one-quarter of a teaspoon. In this quantity, the baking soda is “totally undetectable”.
Don’t be tempted to use more, however, or you’ll be left with a soapy, odd-tasting soup. If you’ve accidentally added too much, you can simply add more tomatoes.
Tomato soup recipe
Ingredients (serves six)
- Four tablespoons of butter
- One diced onion
- Two tablespoons of plain flour
- Two cups of milk, preferably whole
- One quarter teaspoon of baking soda
- 551g of canned chopped tomatoes
- Two teaspoons of granulated sugar
- Salt, to taste
Method
Start by heating the butter in a large Dutch oven or pan over medium heat. Add the onion and half a teaspoon of salt. Cook until softened and translucent (not browned), about six minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly, then gradually whisk in milk. This will thicken the soup and add creaminess.
Add the baking soda, tomatoes, sugar and one more teaspoon of salt. Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat to allow the soup to thicken and flavours to combine.
To puree the soup, transfer it in batches to your standing blender to the desired consistency. Alternatively, you can use a hand blender.
Finish off by adding more salt if needed until the soup tastes vibrant and well-seasoned.