| The "I Totally Did Not Rip This One Off From Panera, Honest!" Tomato Soup Recipe |
*ahem*
With a few crazy weeks now behind me and the lovely smell of burnishing autumn in the air, it's time for some cold weather recipes to kick in. Soups, stews, and doing-it-the-long-way breads are in.
Since I have been doing a lot of writing from Panera, I have been eating a lot of Creamy Tomato Soup. It's almost become a ritual. Last night, at 11 pm, I sat here craving that soup (I can't eat much these days) and wondered what would happen if I googled "Panera Tomato Soup Recipe". So I did.
Lo and behold, there it was! Tomatoes and cream pureed together for a velvety blend of rich goodness, how could I resist? So I tried that recipe tonight.
It failed. Dear lord, it failed. I checked my measurements, checked several sites to cross reference the recipe and apparently that *is* the one from the Official Panera cookbook (available at Barnes and Noble). My soup, though, was a watery imitation of the original - and I was not pleased. I do not do recipe fail! I am the Evil Housewife! I will have my creamy tomato soup!
So I started from scratch, making allowances for the low-carb switch. Your mileage may vary, but this recipe produces a reasonable facsimile of the soup at Panera. And here goes!
You will need:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (get Kerrygold if you can)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
5 tablespoons flour (I used whole wheat flour here)
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar OR 1/2 teaspoon Splenda (this is WAY sweet and I've learned the hard way to go easy on this and add more later if necessary!)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon bicarb (baking soda)
6 cups (2 large cans) crushed tomatoes in puree
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until softened.
Sprinkle flour over butter mixture and stir.
Add milk slowly, then stir in salt, sugar, oregano, pepper, and the bay leaf. Stir until slightly thickened.
Add bicarb to tomatoes. Do NOT do this too early or your tomatoes explode like a second-grade volcano project. Ask me how I know. The bicarb keeps the milk from curdling when the tomatoes are added.
Add tomatoes to thickened milk mixture, bring to a simmer.
Remove bay leaf and serve!
Panera also makes asiago cheese bread, which is what they make their croutons out of. You can do that if you have the energy - I don't! |
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posted by Gwenneh at 
