Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup
Cream of tomato is comfort food across Europe, and the tinned and boxed versions lean hard on added sugar to cover the acidity of cheap tomatoes and on cream for body. Roasting fixes the first problem: spread canned tomatoes on a tray under high heat and their sugars caramelize and concentrate, turning sweet and deep with nothing added. Blended white beans fix the second, giving a thick, velvety soup that carries protein and fiber instead of the fat of cream. Toasted tomato paste and roasted garlic build the savory base, and torn basil at the end keeps it fresh. It is a pantry soup, cheap and quick, that tastes like it took far more.
Ingredients
- 28 oz Canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained
- 1 whole Yellow onions, cut into wedges
- 4 cloves Garlic, unpeeled
- 1 whole Carrots, diced
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups Cannellini beans, cooked, drained, and rinsed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened soy milk
- 1/4 cup Basil, torn
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Heat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Spread the drained tomatoes, onion wedges, and unpeeled garlic on a lined tray and roast for 25 minutes, until the tomatoes shrink and char at the edges and the onion browns. This dry roast is the whole point: it drives off water and caramelizes the tomatoes' natural sugar, which is the sweetness a canned tomato soup usually buys with a spoonful of sugar.
- While it roasts, sweat the diced carrot in a pot with a few tablespoons of water until soft, about 8 minutes. Push it to one side, add the tomato paste to the bare pot, and toast it until it darkens to brick red, about 2 minutes, for a deep savory base.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins and scrape the tomatoes and onion, with any dark juices from the tray, into the pot. Add the beans, bay leaves, bouillon, and 2.5 cups (590 ml) water and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Fish out the bay leaves and blend the soup smooth, beans and all. The white beans are what make it thick and velvety: they add body, protein, and fiber where cream would add only fat, so the soup drinks rich with none of the dairy.
- Return it to low heat, stir in the soy milk and the black pepper, and warm through without boiling. Off the heat, stir in most of the torn basil and float the rest on top. Taste, and if the tomatoes were sharp, the soup will not need it, but a splash more water can loosen it to your liking.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 170 calories, 8 g protein, 7 g fiber, 90 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
