Page 18 - Italina-American Herald - January 2025

18 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JANUARY 2025 ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
THE CHEF’S PERSPECTIVE
Start the new year with a homemade bowl of warmth and comfort
By Murray
Schulman
My source of
happiness and stability
has always been in
front of my stove.
What better way to
start the new year than
with the ultimate comfort food for a cold
January day, than a big pot of scratch-made
tomato soup?
This warm, velvety, delight has been a
staple in homes since it first appeared in
a cookbook as early as 1832. It became
popular here in the United States with a
recipe that appeared in “New Cookery Book”
in 1857. Then in 1897 the Campbell Soup
Co. produced the first cans of condensed
tomato soup.
The version that I make is based on
ingredients that most of us find in our
refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. This makes
that spur-of-the-moment craving that Liz and
I experienced that day possible to satisfy. All
we need is a bit of time, a touch of know-
how, and that ingrained culinary sense of
adventure.
The starting point is a large non-reactive
pot. You don’t want to heat tomato products
in an aluminum pan. Once you have this, the
building process begins. In this case, I froze
some small fresh tomatoes from my tomato
plants at the end of the summer. (This is
not a requirement. I just happened to have
these on hand.) I thawed them and the skins
simply fell off the meat of the tomatoes. I
broke up the tomatoes by hand and removed
the seeds and set them aside.
I set the heat to medium where it will
remain throughout the cooking process. With
the pot gently heating on the burner, I chop
two large, sweet onions and three to four
large cloves of garlic. In the warm pot I pour
enough olive oil to coat the entire bottom of
the pot. To this I add three tablespoons of
unsalted butter. As soon as the butter begins
to melt, I add the chopped onion. The onion
must just begin to clarify with no browning
whatsoever. As soon as the onions start to
appear clear, add the chopped garlic and
continue cooking for just a couple more
minutes. At this point I add 1/8 cup of flour
which I combine well with the onion and
garlic mixture. Add the flour gradually until
the oil is partially absorbed. Now I add one
can of tomato paste. This gets stirred into the
floured onion and garlic mixture. Keep the
heat at medium and keep these ingredients
moving. My tomatoes now have a bit of
liquid formed around the flesh. I add it all
to the pot continuing to stir, keeping the
product in motion and fully incorporating
the ingredients. Now comes the magic.
I add two 28-ounce cans of my favorite
brand of crushed tomatoes. I continue to stir
each layer of product as it is added to fully
incorporate and to continue keeping the
mixture in motion.
At this point, let’s talk about seasoning. I
have sodium restrictions. So, I don’t add any
salt plus I use unsalted crushed tomatoes and
unsalted broth/stock. I would suggest that in
your recipe you would be very gradual about
adding salt and using a reduced sodium
broth or stock.
Notice that I haven’t added any broth yet.
That is because I am going to begin to layer
in the flavors here. I use a high-quality salt
substitute (you use kosher or sea salt) which I
add just the smallest quantity to start. To this
I add two tablespoon equivalents of a monk
fruit sweetening extract (you use sugar). I
enjoy the flavor of three herbs in this version
of tomato soup, thyme, dill, and parsley.
Then I add just a half teaspoon of ground
black pepper to start. These seasonings get
stirred into the mixture. The final stage to
this point is gradually adding the broth or
stock. Choose your favorite. Either chicken,
vegetable, or beef works. I had some chicken,
and some beef open in the refrigerator. I
used both for a total of one quart. When you
consider that I had already added about two
cups of water when cleaning the residual
tomato products from the cans, the additional
four cups of broth should be perfect for this
quantity of soup. Stir the mixture thoroughly
and bring the soup to just the boiling point,
keeping the heat at medium. Be patient, this
takes a few minutes. As soon as a slow boil
begins, cover the pot and reduce the heat
to allow the soup to just simmer gently for
roughly 45 minutes. I stir the soup every 15
minutes.
When the 45-minute timer sounds,
remove the lid and carefully taste for
seasoning. Adjust the salt and pepper to
Patience is key when making tomato soup, as the heat is never higher than medium.
PHOTO BY MURRAY SCHULMAN
taste. Once satisfied, gradually add four
tablespoons of softened unsalted butter. Fold
the butter into the soup to give a creamy
appearance and a velvety mouth feel.
Serve the soup with good crusty bread
for dunking, croutons, oyster crackers, or
our favorite, cheesy bread. Cheesy bread
is basically an open-faced grilled cheese
sandwich made on hearty rustic bread slices.
This is the ultimate in comfort food. This
chef guarantees that trying this recipe is well
worth the effort. IAH
Murray Schulman, a columnist with the
Italian-American Herald for 12 years, has
worked in the food business for more than
50 years, sharing his expertise in kitchens,
offices and classrooms spanning several states.
He retired in 2017 as head of prepared foods
for Delaware Supermarkets Inc. He lives in
Pennsville, N.J.
The starting
point is a large
non-reactive pot.
You don’t want
to heat tomato
products in an
aluminum pan.