Tomato soup
See this recipe step by step

Tomato soup

To make the tastiest tomato soup you’ll ever experience wait until the tomatoes are at their most ripe and juicy, around September

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Low-fat

Method

  1. Firstly, prepare your vegetables. You need 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes. If the tomatoes are on their vines, pull them off. The green stalky bits should come off at the same time, but if they don't, just pull or twist them off afterwards. Throw the vines and green bits away and wash the tomatoes. Now cut each tomato into quarters and slice off any hard cores (they don't soften during cooking and you'd get hard bits in the soup at the end). Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.
  2. Spoon 2 tbsp olive oil into a large heavy-based pan and heat it over a low heat. Hold your hand over the pan until you can feel the heat rising from the oil, then tip in the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Still with the heat low, cook the vegetables until they're soft and faintly coloured. This should take about 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Holding the tube over the pan, squirt in about 2 tsp of tomato purée, then stir it around so it turns the vegetables red. Shoot the tomatoes in off the chopping board, sprinkle in a good pinch of sugar and grind in a little black pepper. Tear 2 bay leaves into a few pieces and throw them into the pan. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan and their juices flow nicely. From time to time, give the pan a good shake - this will keep everything well mixed.
  4. Slowly pour in the 1.2 litres/ 2 pints of hot stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes), stirring at the same time to mix it with the vegetables. Turn up the heat as high as it will go and wait until everything is bubbling, then turn the heat down to low again and put the lid back on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times. At the end of cooking the tomatoes will have broken down and be very slushy looking.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and stand back for a few seconds or so while the steam escapes, then fish out the pieces of bay leaf and throw them away. Ladle the soup into your blender until it's about three-quarters full, fit the lid on tightly and turn the machine on full. Blitz until the soup's smooth (stop the machine and lift the lid to check after about 30 seconds), then pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat with the soup that's left in the pan. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating.)
  6. Pour the puréed soup back into the pan and reheat it over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until you can see bubbles breaking gently on the surface. Taste a spoonful and add a pinch or two of salt if you think the soup needs it, plus more pepper and sugar if you like. If the colour's not a deep enough red for you, plop in another teaspoon of tomato purée and stir until it dissolves. Ladle into bowls and serve. Or sieve and serve chilled with some cream swirled in. For other serving suggestions, see opposite.
Try

Choosing the best tomatoes

The best British tomatoes for making soup are Elegance, a deep-red classic tomato (often sold on the vine) with a thin skin and sweet, juicy flesh. Aranca are good on-the-vine cocktail tomatoes with a superb flavour and aroma, but if you prefer the larger beefsteak variety, go for Jack Hawkins. Plum tomatoes to watch out for include Santa, Jester, Mona Lisa and Baby Sweetheart.

Nutrition per serving for four

123 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 13g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 4g, sugar 1g, salt 1.08 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 201-220

  • Binder photo lottie bobs

    11 April 2012

    lottie bobs rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo human kenwood

    16 April 2012

    human kenwood rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I served hot with a little creme fraiche. Was very nice and I could definitely taste the freshness compared to a tin. I would highly recommend sieving the soup after blending as it made it much smoother and tastier.

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  • Binder photo JeanRock

    30 April 2012

    JeanRock rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really great recipe, simple and so so tasty :)

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  • Binder photo steviep

    16 June 2012

    steviep rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    made this the other night, added a small red chilli to the recipe, was fantastic, made some homemade rosemary and garlic bread to accompany it too

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  • Binder photo steviep

    16 June 2012

    steviep commented on this recipe

    made this the other night, added a small red chilli to the recipe, was fantastic, made some homemade rosemary and garlic bread to accompany it too

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  • Binder photo Clarko

    29 July 2012

    Clarko commented on this recipe

    About to make this but my inner editor has noticed that Step 2 is missing an ingredient: Spoon the ???? into a large heavy-based pan On to my cooking :-)

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  • Binder photo Clarko

    29 July 2012

    Clarko commented on this recipe

    About to make this but my inner editor has noticed that Step 2 is missing an ingredient: Spoon the ???? into a large heavy-based pan On to my cooking :-)

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  • Binder photo Janpiano

    14 August 2012

    Janpiano rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo littlemissmessy

    16 August 2012

    littlemissmessy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    love it lmm x

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  • Binder photo kat

    22 August 2012

    kat rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    If you need to know what step 2 is carry on reading .it will answer your question. just made this soup with Guernsey Tomatoes . very nice i will be freezing some for later and will stock freezer for winter warmer

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  • Binder photo Tracy

    02 September 2012

    Tracy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really enjoyed this soup

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  • Binder photo Kate

    03 September 2012

    Kate commented on this recipe

    Fantastic recipe, really tasty. I only made a few changes. I missed out the bay leaves, only used 1.5pints of stock, and I added some sugar in when I was browning the vegetables to caramelise the onions a bit :)

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  • Binder photo Jenniferocious

    16 September 2012

    Jenniferocious rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really easy and extra tasty with a splash of Worcester sauce!

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  • Binder photo skd83

    27 September 2012

    skd83 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    As others suggested, I used less stock than the recipe stated.

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  • Binder photo Bigal

    06 October 2012

    Bigal commented on this recipe

    I put it through a medium sieve and then through a fine one. What an excellent result. The solids left in the sieve went in a casserole of beef and rabbit.

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  • Binder photo celyncoed

    06 October 2012

    celyncoed rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    made this and it was nice but will skin the toms when doing again as they didn't blend and watched the kids picking them out all through dinner

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  • Binder photo susieg

    09 October 2012

    susieg rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really delicious soup. Try with basil to serve and crusty bread. Very straightforward recipe with even tastier results.

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  • Binder photo Jim Stowe

    16 October 2012

    Jim Stowe commented on this recipe

    Really tasty Soup and it earned me brownie points with my good wife.

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  • Binder photo katrinamoss

    31 October 2012

    katrinamoss rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really easy and delicious! Used up the remaining tomatoes from the garden and added a good splash of balsamic vinegar when I added the tomatoes. Nothing like it to bring out the tomato flavour!

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  • Binder photo nescient

    02 November 2012

    nescient commented on this recipe

    Sounds good - but why 600 words? Argh! Here are the 100 you need. 1. Strip and chop the tomatoes and veg as prefered. 2. Stir-cook the veg in the oil in a suitable pan, to soften and colour (about 10 mins on low heat). 3. Add the tomatoes, purée, bay leaves, and sugar and pepper to taste (i.e. guess!). Stir-cook on low heat for another 10 mins. 4. Add the stock and stir-cook on high heat till bubbling, then stir-cook gently for 25 mins (tomatoes should become slushy). 5. Remove the bay leaves, blend and reheat/season/thicken/thin the mix as required. 6. Serve hot or chilled, perhaps with cream swirled in.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Low-fat

Ingredients

  • 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 squirts of tomato purée (about 2 tsp)
  • a good pinch of sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.2 litres/ 2 pints hot vegetable stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes)
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Nutrition per serving for four

123 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 13g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 4g, sugar 1g, salt 1.08 g

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