Our kids are very good at eating most food we make, vegetables, greens, meat, and fish. It is a pleasure to see how much they enjoy good quality food and refuse to eat McDonald’s, KFC, or any other big fast-food chains.

The past year has seen a shift in the ingredients we use. Not a drastic change to homegrown vegetables, but we like to source our vegetables from the local farmer’s markets and local butcher. The quality and flavors are so much better.

During fall and winter, we change the meal plan to include a lot more soups and chowders. Nothing beats a nice smooth and warm soup/chowder on a cold day. And it is straightforward to prepare and store soups in advance.

It’s a soup that is made with love, passion and patience.

I’ve meant to write and share this recipe with you for some time, but it always got bumped to the next batch of posts. We need good soul food. This soup will recharge your batteries, especially on a cool and dark fall or winter evening.

We never buy remade soups on cans or bags. They have no flavor and contain too many scary additives and salt; neither is good for you!

In all honesty, it is not difficult to make. You need some basic ingredients and then a method of smoking the tomatoes. Of course, I use my Traeger, but you decide how to smoke your own vegetables.

Ingredients

• 15 roman tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato puree (no or low salt)
• 3 carrots
• 1 large onion
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of paprika
• 1/2 cup of half-n-half
• 2 teaspoons of dried Italian herbs
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• A few grinds of black pepper

There are only two steps to prepare this smooth and super tasty tomato soup; smoking and grinding the vegetables.

Let’s get smoking

1. Set the temperature on your Traeger to 400F
2. While the grill is heating up, you prepare the vegetables
3. Mix the olive oil and Italian herbs in a small bowl – add a few grinds of black pepper
4. Wash and prepare all your vegetables
   1. half the tomatoes
   2. quarter the onion
   3. half the carrots
   4. peel the garlic
5. Place the vegetables on a grill mesh or tray
6. Brush all the vegetables with the olive oil mixture
7. When the grill is ready, place the vegetables in the grill
8. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes

Let’s get grinding

When the vegetables are ready, you need to find a large pot to complete the soup’s creation. It needs to be large enough to hold the vegetables and additional ingredients.

1. Add a little olive oil to the pot, just 1-2 tablespoons
2. Gently place all the vegetables in the pot
3. Let it fry a little, releasing some of the favors in the kitchen
4. Add the chicken broth, and bring it to a simmer
5. Add the tomato puree
6. Mix the ingredients with a large spoon
7. Add the paprika and a few grinds of black pepper
8. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes
9. With a hand blender, grind the vegetables until you have a smooth and fine soup
10. Add the half-n-half, and mix a few minutes extra

The soup is ready to serve. I highly recommend adding my nice country bread to dinner. Slice it and dunk it into the soup – awesome. You can also brush it with some olive and garlic, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and then heat the slices. Amazing!

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Important Soup Discussion Points

We must have an honest conversation about two key steps in the soup making process. Both will have a little impact on texture and flavor. It can be a sensitive topic, but we need to have a debate.

Blending Proces

There are many ways to blend the soup. But in my humble opinion, and having tested the various methods, there’s only one safe method.

I will share a few options below, but highly recommend using a hand blender.

Basically, anything that involves transferring the soup to different blenders and pots always increases the risk of spilling and getting hurt.

Food Processor … nope!

Assuming you take the necessary precautions for transporting and moving the soup, the use of a food processor is prone to be messy and will not yield a good result.

• you can only add a little of the mixture at a time
• the heat released when blending may cause the food processor to spew out steam
• the steam and heat released can create pressure, and that will cause the soup from
• steam and hot soup will burn your hands, arms, and face
• you need to move the soup to another pot for storage

Kitchen Blender … nope!

Assuming you take the necessary precautions for transporting and moving the soup, the use of a food processor is prone to be messy and will not yield a good result.

Using a blender is similar to using a food processor, and not deemed safe either.

• you can only add a little of the mixture at a time
• the heat released when blending may cause the food processor to spew out steam
• the steam and heat released can create pressure, and that will cause the soup from
• steam and hot soup will burn your hands, arms, and face
• you need to move the soup to another pot for storage

Hand Blender … YES!

Using the hand blender is a clear winner. Granted, it takes a little longer to get the right texture, but it is gratifying to see how smooth the soup gets using a simple hand blender.

• From the safety of the stove, you use a hand blender
• DO NOT start the blender until the blender head is submerged
• Angle the blender at the bottom, creating a whirl
• Tilt the pot slightly to encourage vegetables to drop towards the blender head
• Move the blender around the soup, catching all the large chunks

Pulp is Good

Many recipes will often suggest you strain the soup after you have blended it. They want it to be a smooth consistency, removing all the good and healthy stuff delivered by the vegetable pulp.

I suppose it is a similar discussion to have about orange juice. Do you like pulp or not? It is a personal choice, but my recommendation is to leave the pulp in the soup.

Granted, it adds a little thicker consistency and ‘falls’ to the bottom of the pot and bowl. However, if you have bread with the soup, you can scoop up the bread’s pulp.

I believe that the pulp is healthy and good for you. That is also the reason why I never peel vegetables. We were always told as kids that the peel contains the good stuff for your body. So, leave the pulp in the soup. It is good for you.

It is probably more about determining your personal preferences, but the blending is a safety concern you need to consider.

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