Tomato Basil Soup (for canning)

Who doesn’t love tomato soup in the fall or winter? Or anytime for that matter!?! I absolutely love it. With grilled cheese, or without. It’s yummy. This summer I had a LOT of tomatoes. Not only did my garden produce many, a friend of mine gifted me with tons from her mother-in-law. In the past I have made pasta sauce, Bloody Mary Mix and salsa. I am always looking for more ways to use what we have. This year I added this soup to my arsenal. And holy shit! It’s so good! And honestly, it’s probably the easiest way of cooking and preserving all these tomatoes. I looked to the internet for recipes, as well as one from my aunt in Colorado. As many of my recipes, I use a hybrid of multiple resources. For your enjoyment, here is the recipe.

I will also post a photo of the recipe. Sometimes it’s’ easier to print or view that instead of scrolling while trying to cook. I get it. I totally get it.

Happy Canning!

Ingredients:

7lbs tomatoes (mostly Roma, but mix in others)

1 cup diced yellow onion

3 Tbsp minced garlic (or fresh garlic if you prefer)

½ cup vegetable broth

More broth depending on the consistency you want

2 bay leaves

3Tbsp tomato paste

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp dried oregano

3 Tbsp fresh chopped basil

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp granulated garlic (I used garlic salt)

Celery salt (or to taste)

Salt and Pepper (to taste) for roasting and more pepper in soup

Olive Oil to drizzle

Lemon Juice

Steps:

1. Halve the tomatoes and spread on cookie sheets, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Add onions and garlic. Roast in oven at 400 for 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile sanitize jars and lids (bring water to boil, then boil for 10 min)
3. Transfer to stock pot. Add tomato paste, bay leaves, basil and oregano
4. Simmer for 10 minutes or so
5. In batches, use blender to puree
6. Transfer back to stock pot. Add rest of ingredients minus the lemon juice.
7. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add vegetable stock until desired consistency. This is optional. You can skip and add liquid when you open a jar to use. I add now, so all canned goods are ready to eat when opened.
8. Add 2 Tbsp of lemon juice to each quart jar. Or 1 Tbsp if using pints.
9. Fill jars with soup, leaving ½ inch head space. Cover with lids and rings tightly.
10. Water bath canner for 40 minutes

Makes 3 quarts if you don’t add broth. I make 4-5 quarts with broth