Creamy Tomato & Basil Soup

A Grown-Up, Homemade Twist on a Childhood Classic (and Spilling the Tea on the Best Canned Tomatoes)

Mmmm mmmm good!

As a kid, my favorite soup was Campbell’s Tomato Soup. While my tastes have changed and I haven’t eaten soup out of a can in years, and I’ve always longed for a good tomato soup. So, this year I tried to make my own. It was a revelation. (As in, This is sooooo easy!) It took only about 30 minutes.

The fresh basil and cream make this soup. As do the San Marzano tomatoes. The chicken stock gives it more flavorful goodness. The parmesan brings another note and the cheese, milk and the bit of sugar cut the acidity.

What’s the big deal about San Marzano tomatoes?

When researching this soup, I found that most recipes specified San Marzano tomatoes. Why? Well, apparently it’s a very special variety of low acidity, very flavorful, sweet plum tomato. The “true” San Marzanos are imported from Italy. Grown near Mt. Versuvias. (Yes, the volcano mountain whose ash covered Pompeii!)

Apparently, true San Marzano tomatoes also bear the statement “DOP Certified” on the label. “DOP” stands for the Italian phrase, “Denominazione d’Origine Protetta.”

In English for the EU.

San Marzano is not only the variety of tomato, but the region where they are grown. (You can buy seeds for San Marzanos.)

I also learned that there are a lot of fake San Marzanos. The first time I made the soup, I got the real deal. The second time, my husband Andy picked up a couple of cans, and I got the fakes! They were San Marzano Style. And I have to say, this batch of soup was not nearly as good as the first batch in which I used Cento.

Oh, the corruption and lies in the food industry!

Legit!

There was even a class action lawsuit on (allegedly) masquerading tomatoes. You can read about it here.

Yes, a rabbit hole.

Note: All the above information came from this site/article at AllRecipes.com.

Then Reddit chimed in.

Maybe legit, maybe not.

As I was exploring the San Marzano issue, I found a Reddit thread that said the Trader Joe’s San Marzaninos are baby San Marzanos (that makes sense, but I haven’t researched further). Then the thread comments veered off into a discussion about another canned tomato: Bianco DiNapoli. People were raving about them, saying they are better than San Marzanos.

One comment: “I use Cento as well because sometime Bianco are hard to find.”

Another commented: “Thirding this. The Bianco tomatoes are grown in California, but they’re better than any canned tomato I’ve tasted grown in Italy.”

Then someone else agreed, writing, “Hands down.”

These came up in a search, 6 cans (organic and with basil, 28 oz.) at Walmart for $24.90. Regularly $4.99 a can at Target. Grown in California.

I’m intrigued! Hopefully, I’ll remember to look for these the next time I’m in Target. (They have an organic option at Walmart, too.)

The other thing I learned about this week: How to make instant “award winning” tomato soup!

My daughter Lily and I were talking about soup this week (she may send in her favorite chicken noodle recipe) and she said she saw a TikTok video where a former Italian restaurant employee revealed the recipe of their “award-winning” soup.

A jar of Prego + heavy cream.

In that comment section someone had a similar story from a restaurant where they worked!

Anyway, in a world of fraud and deception, here’s a very good tomato soup recipe. I look forward to the day when I can grow my own San Marzanos and basil (and onions and garlic) and make lots of high quality soup!

Ingredients (always buy organic if you can!)

Servings: 8 people (1 cup servings)

Too many onions in this picture, and you can use unsalted butter. We are fond of Kerrygold, though it’s not “certified organic”!

• 4 Tbsp butter

• 2 yellow onions, (3 cups finely chopped)

• 3 garlic cloves, (1 Tbsp minced)

• 56 oz canned tomatoes (two, 28-oz. cans) with juice, preferably San Marzano, whole or crushed work equally well if you will be blending, and I love “fire roasted” best!

• 2 cups chicken stock or bouillon and water or chicken bone broth

• 2 oz (about 1/4 cup) chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish—or you can use 1 Tbsp dry

• 1 Tbsp organic sugar, or to taste

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 cup organic heavy whipping cream, or to taste to combat acidity

• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for garnish

Not really San Marzanos . . . and homemade stock would be a lot better than bouillon as even this organic brand has maltodextrin and “natural” flavor (“natural” meaning nothing as it could apply to a flavoring synthetically created).

Instructions

• Heat a stainless steel soup pot or enameled Dutch oven over medium heat. Melt butter then add chopped onions. Sauté 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden. Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.

• Add tomatoes and their juice, chicken stock or bouillon and water, basil, sugar, and black pepper. Stir, bring to a boil.

• Reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.

  

  The yellow blob is the chicken bouillon.

• Blend ingredients in the cooking pot with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender in batches and blend until smooth (I only fill the blender 1/2 full at most and it’s best to wait until the soup cools).

• Return blended soup to the pot.

• Over medium heat add the heavy cream, freshly grated parmesan cheese and return to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If it seems too acidic you can add more cream and/or sugar.

• Ladle into warm bowls and top with more parmesan, chopped fresh basil, and croutons.

I hope you LOVE IT!

What’s your favorite soup? Leave a comment!

Creepy? Oh well, it’s October!

George Washington Carver was one of the original advocates for regenerative agriculture. His work laid the foundation for today’s efforts to return to soil health, natural inputs, and local food systems—values that we’re finally embracing once more. Available on Amazon in print, e-book, and audiobook!