Healthy Homemade Tomato Soup

After creating the pasta, cheese and hot dog amalgamation so laboriously explained in my last post, and from the consumption of which my body is still recovering, I thought it prudent to focus on healthy foods for a post or two. This healthy, vegan tomato soup recipe was my first attempt at digestive redemption following the misguided (albeit delicious) aforementioned meal. In short, I came home with a hankering for soup, the realization that I should have a salad, and the industriousness to attempt a combination of the two. I scoured my cabinets and the recesses of my refrigerator, and produced the following ingredients, which I turned into a simple, hearty, and beautifully rust-colored tomato soup.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 red onion – diced

1 large carrot – peeled and diced

1 clove garlic – minced

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp celery salt

1 large can (28 oz) diced tomato

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cups mixed “super” greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc.)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Prepare all of the ingredients first. Believe me, this shit is way easier if you prep ahead of time.

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pan over medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the onions and carrots. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until they’re just softened.

Add the garlic, basil, thyme, and celery salt, and stir until they’re well-mixed and effervescent (about 60-90 seconds).

Add the tomato and chicken broth and mix.

Puree the mixture in one of two ways. Either pour the mixture into a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth, or use an immersion blender (the most wonderful kitchen tool in the world) to puree the tomatoes and vegetables in the soup pan.

Add a pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook the tomato mixture for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the soup has cooked down just a bit, add the greens, and another pinch of salt and pepper (give it a taste) and puree the greens into the soup in the same manner as before.

Return to the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve it up when you’re ready!

For the record, I definitely made a gooey grilled cheese to go with this soup. Granted, this totally negates the vegan-ness of the meal… but that’s definitely the point of the grilled cheese. Cheese is delicious.