I can make an extraordinarily delicious tomato soup in three minutes with three main ingredients and three things to wash. My friends and family often tell me it’s the best tomato soup they have ever eaten.
You will need:
28 ounces of canned tomatoes, either whole, stewed or cut. That is one big can or two 14 ounce cans.
One onion, yellow or sweet
Four ounces (one stick) of butter (I like the Irish butter Kerrygold, made from the milk of grass fed cows. I am fairly certain that the reason this butter is so good is that the cows are tended by leprechauns).
Splash of vinegar (any kind except white distilled)
A slow cooker, pressure cooker or a saucepan.
Open the can and pour the tomatoes and the juice into a pot. Peel the onion and cut it into very large chunks (for those inclined to be accurate, cut it into sixteenths). Cut the butter into pieces then give the mixture a quick swirl.
If you use a slow cooker, cook it on high for about three hours. On a stove, simmer it for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. If you use a pressure cooker, 12 minutes should do it.
After it’s finished cooking, blend the soup. I use an immersion blender. If you use a standard blender, cool the soup, so it’s not steaming. If the soup is hot, when you remove the lid it will explode. The soup will go all over the place – the ceiling, walls, cupboards, the floor, your face, apron, and jeans. I should know – I have done this twice (and years later, there is still some soup on the ceiling; a friend pointed this out to me recently).
After blending, stir in a splash of vinegar. My favorite is white balsamic. White balsamic vinegar is also excellent on green salads that contain fruit. Aged sherry vinegar works well too. Other additions can be a tablespoon or so of Grand Mariner liqueur which adds a subtle orange flavor, or basil, either fresh or dried.
Add a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread and you have a quick and easy meal that has a comfort food feel on a chilly central Oregon night.
Do you have a simple three-ingredient recipe you’d like to share? If so, please send it to me at Isabel@plentymethod.org