Cream of Tomato Soup

From my childhood, I remember piping hot bowls of Campbell’s tomato soup, made with milk (not water) with Ritz crackers floating in the soup until they became sufficiently saturated to break with the spoon. I would eat the crackers and then add more to make the bowl last longer. And as if this wasn’t enough, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wonder bread (uggh) or a grilled cheese sandwich made with American cheese.

So when I said I was making homemade tomato soup and the response was “Why would you waste your time when you can open a can?” I understood.

This soup is worth the effort. Delicious.

Cream of Tomato Soup

1 large onion

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cans San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz, whole peeled)

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups half and half

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon ground white pepper



Melt butter over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent.

Add tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook uncovered for about an hour, until the tomatoes and onions are soft and broken down. Remove from heat. Remove bay leave and puree in a food processor, blender or food mill.

Strain soup. Return to a large pot set over low heat. Add salt, pepper and half and half.

San Marzano tomatoes are considered, by most chefs, to be the best tomatoes for any sauce. The San Marzano is an heirloom variety of the plum tomato. The legend is that the first seeds were given to the Kingdom of Naples, as a gift from Peru in 1770. The seed were planted in San Marzano a small town southeast of Naples near the base of Mount Vesuvius. The variety is grown in the United States and worldwide and is naturally sweet, with fewer seeds and lower acidity.

Still delicious with a grilled cheese sandwich. M'm! M'm! Good!