Chelsey's Tomato Soup

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In San Antonio, Chelsey served us a delicious homemade tomato soup! She told me how she made it, and I found a similar coconut-milk based tomato soup recipe on the web. What I really liked about Chelsey's was that the base was pureed, but there were still chunks of tomato and kale to give it some texture.

Serve with crackers or fresh bread or garlic bread, or top with fresh bread croutons. You could also try adding pasta (gnocchi?) or veggie dumplings to the soup, too.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 celery stalks (optional)
1 onion, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 T canola oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup cashews, soaked - or 1 C coconut cream
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 T balsamic vinegar
(optional) kale (a few leaves, chopped)

Spices:
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
salt & pepper to taste
(optional) 2 tsp 21 spice no-salt seasoning (like Kirkland's or Trader Joes)

Garnish (optional):
Fresh basil or other herbs
Fresh bread croutons (seasoned with garlic and toasted)

Instructions

If using cashews rather than coconut cream for creaminess, soak the cashews in water an hour or two ahead of time if possible (if not, it will still work!)

Chelsey suggests pre-roasting fresh tomatoes tomato, onion, carrot, and garlic in the oven to get it sweet. Alternately in a soup pot, saute the onion, carrots, and garlic in oil for about 10 minutes to soften. 

Add spices and cook for a couple minutes, stirring frequently.

Add vegetable broth and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Turn off and let cool and then puree with hand blender (course is okay).

Add chopped kale (if using)  and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

If using cashews, puree them in a food processor or powerful blender (want very smooth, no tiny chunks)

Add cashew milk or coconut milk (whichever you're using).

Add salt, nutritional yeast, and vinegar. Simmer a 5 more minutes.

Blend in fresh chopped basil!

Garnish with pepper and any other fresh herbs, and serve!








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