Sunny Provencal Tomato Soup Recipes

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot, add the onions, and saute over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the leeks, potatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper and saute over medium heat for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and saffron, bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Add the haricots verts and spaghetti, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 more minutes.
• To serve, whisk 1/4 cup of the pistou into the hot soup, then season to taste. Depending on the saltiness of your chicken stock, you may need to add up to another tablespoon of salt. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and more pistou.
• Pistou:
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 24 large basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• Place the garlic, tomato paste, basil, and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and puree. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil down the feed tube to make a paste. Pack into a container, pour a film of olive oil on top, and close the lid.
• Yield: 1 cup

PROVENCAL TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook for a minute. Turn the heat to medium, add the bay leaves and sweat the onion until it starts to soften, about 8 minutes. It shouldn't color, so stir from time to time to prevent it sticking and burning.
• Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the cayenne pepper, sugar and cook for a minute, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook, stirring until the tomatoes take on an orangey hue and have reduced a little.
• Add the pearl barley, Parmesan rind, if using, and the stock, plus salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cover. Cook until the barley is tender enough to smash with a spoon against the side of the pan, about 40 minutes. If substituting Arborio rice, it will take about half the amount of time to cook.
• Let the soup sit for a few minutes. Remove the bay leaves and blend thoroughly, in batches, using either a wand blender or a freestanding one. Return to the pot, check the seasoning and add a grind or two of black pepper. Serve as is or with a few torn basil leaves or a little pesto stirred into it.

PROVENCE TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in pot on medium heat and clarify the onions.
• Put in the rest of ingredients, stir and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove parmesan rind and bay leaf.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

PROVENCAL TOMATO SOUP WITH RICE

Steps:

• Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife. Blanch tomatoes in batches of 2 or 3 in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling water 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.
• Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently, cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.
• Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, zest, thyme, red-pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and bay leaf in oil in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes with reserved juice, tomato paste, water, chicken broth, salt, pepper, saffron, and 1 teaspoon sugar, then simmer, uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice and simmer, uncovered, until rice is tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley, basil, and sugar and salt to taste.

SUNNY'S SIMPLE ROASTED TOMATO SOUP WITH BROILED CHEESE TOAST

Steps:

• For the soup: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
• Drizzle some olive oil in a zig-zag motion on the foil. Add the thyme and garlic and season the baking sheet with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapeno on the baking sheet sliced-side down, covering the garlic cloves and thyme as you go along. Pour over the onions, drizzle the top of everything with olive oil and season again with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast until the onions are golden and slightly charred, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer everything from the baking sheet to a blender in batches and pulse until smooth. Pour into a pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring the entire time. Add enough vegetable stock to achieve the desired consistency; you may not use it all. Keep warm on low.
• For the toast: Preheat the broiler on high.
• Put a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and arrange the bread on the rack. Top each piece of bread with a slice of cheese and place under the broiler. WATCH while they cook: the cheese will melt and bubble, then the corners will begin to blacken--pull them out then! This takes less than a minute. Serve aside or atop a bowl of soup.

PROVENCAL TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible. Cut them in half crosswise and, with your fingers, remove the seeds and juice. Place the tomato halves in a baking dish.
• In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, scallions, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the tomato halves generously with salt and pepper. With your hands, fill the cavities and cover the tops of the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture. Bake the tomatoes for 15 minutes, or until they're tender. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 30 seconds more. Serve hot or at room temperature.

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE SOUP: SOUPE AU PISTOU

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute just until they start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute more. Add the carrots and celery and continue sauteing until the vegetables deepen in color but have not yet begun to brown, 3 to 4 minutes more. Pour the stock into the pan, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt.
• Tie the peppercorns, thyme, and parsley in a square of cheesecloth, securing it with kitchen string. Add this bouquet garni to the pan. Stir in the beans, zucchini, summer squash, and tomato. Continue simmering until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the Pistou: Put the garlic and tomatoes in a blender or food processor with about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Begin processing. With the machine running, add the basil leaves, and then pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a smooth, thick, but fluid paste. Transfer about 2/3 of the paste into a serving bowl to pass alongside the soup.
• Make the Goat Cheese Croutons: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the bread slices with olive oil and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn on the broiler. Spread 1 side of each crouton with goat cheese and put it back on the baking sheet. Broil until the cheese is warm and slightly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• When the soup is ready, stir the remaining pistou into the saucepan, ladling some of the hot broth into the blender or processor bowl to swirl and rinse any pesto clinging inside into the pan. Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt.
• Ladle the soup into individual heated serving bowls. Float a crouton in the center of each bowl. With a spoon, drizzle a little more pistou over the crouton and soup in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing more pistou alongside for each person to add, to taste.

PROVENçAL TOMATO AND BASIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in half the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprigs or leaves and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the water, Parmesan rind and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the tapioca or rice, and simmer for another 15 minutes until the tapioca is tender and the soup fragrant. Remove the basil sprigs and Parmesan rind. Puree in a blender in small batches, taking care to place a towel over the top of the blender and hold it down tightly. If you used fresh unpeeled tomatoes and want a silkier soup, put through a strainer, using a spatula or the back of a ladle to push the soup through. Return to the pot, add pepper to taste and adjust salt. Serve garnished with garlic croutons and/or Parmesan, if desired, and slivered basil leaves. If serving cold, refrigerate until chilled.

SUNNY'S CREAMY RANCH TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• 1. Roast the tomatoes. On a sheet pan, gently toss together the tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, thyme, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the tomatoes and red peppers, skin side up, tucking the garlic bits beneath them and bake until lightly charred, 45 to 50 minutes.
• 2. Build the soup. In a soup pot, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the tomato paste and mix well, cooking until it's a deeper red than when you started, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and pepper mixture, including the juices, and combine. Stir in the stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Transfer the soup to a blender* (or use hand-held immersion blender) and pulse in small batches that reach only about a third to halfway up the side of the jar. When blending start slow then increase the speed to puree the ingredients until smooth. Use a separate bowl to hold the blended soup and then return it all to the pot.
• 3. Stir in the Hidden Valley®. While whisking, slowly add the Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Light Dressing until combined. Serve warm.

PROVENCAL SOUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat oil and melt butter. Brown garlic and onion 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add red bell pepper and zucchini, and let cook 4 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine.
• Add tomatoes and vegetable stock. Heat and let reduce, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes. Add olives and basil. Stir delicately and heat a little bit more.
• Serve with garlic croutons.

PROVENçAL VEGETABLE SOUP WITH BASIL

Steps:

• Prepare the beans: Put the beans and 5 cups water in a saucepan over high heat. Add onion stuck with clove, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and olive oil. Reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Leave beans to cool in their own broth. (May be cooked several hours or up to 1 day in advance.)
• Make the soup: Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, season generously with salt and pepper and stir to coat. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring until softened and barely browned, about 10 minutes.
• Add potato and 2 cups water to soup pot. Cover and cook until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Add cooked shell beans and bean broth and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, working in batches in a separate pot, blanch Romano beans, wax beans and zucchini in salted water for 1 minute. Spread out to cool on a baking sheet.
• Make the pistou: Put basil, garlic and olive oil in a food processor and pulse to a rough paste. (Alternatively, pound basil and garlic in a stone mortar and stir in oil and cheese.) Stir in about 1/2 cup grated cheese and season with salt and pepper. (Makes about 3/4 cup.)
• To serve, add blanched vegetables to soup pot and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle into bowls and add about 2 tablespoons pistou to the center of each bowl. Pass extra grated cheese at the table.