Tomato Leek Soup – Thick and Chunky
This Tomato Leek Soup recipe is today’s comfort food offering; it is thick and chunky and so flavorful it
Mr. Saucy is a huge fan of tomato soup. And he’d be the first to tell you that he doesn’t mind a can of tomato soup. His mom used to make grilled cheese sandwiches, open a can of condensed tomato soup, heat it and pour it right over the top of the sandwiches. He loved it that way.
I’m not opposed to canned foods in general, but I never buy canned tomato soup. Once I started making tomato soup, I never went back. While I have other versions of homemade tomato soup, Mr. Saucy has declared this his favorite yet.
If you haven’t used leeks before, I urge you to try them. Leeks have a much milder flavor than onions and add a subtle sweetness to dishes. They do have to be cleaned thoroughly, since they are grown in sandy soil that embeds in the segments. To clean them, add water to a bowl a couple of inches above the depth of leeks you are cleaning. Drop in the leek slices and swish them around, being sure to separate the sliced segments. The sand and grit will fall to the bottom of the bowl of water, then the leek pieces and be scooped out of the water and dried for use in your recipe.
For the soup, I started with my cleaned leeks and thinly sliced carrots sautéed in butter. To that I added some garlic, then some vermouth (you could use dry white wine), vegetable stock (you could use water), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and a touch of balsamic vinegar, rosemary, bay leaf, salt and pepper. The soup then simmers for about 30 minutes to reduce and thicken.
At this point it is ready to eat, and I left ours chunky. If you prefer a smooth soup, you can remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to make it creamy.
Do give this recipe a try. You might just give up canned tomato soup too!
P~
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups sliced leeks (about 1 leek, whites and light green sliced, washed, drained and dried)
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced carrot
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 small clove)
- ⅓ cup vermouth (or dry white wine)
- 3 cups vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 -15 ounce can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
- 1 -15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground rosemary leaves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- In a medium-sized sauce pan, over medium heat, add the butter until melted.
- Add the leeks and carrots, stir to combine, cover and cook for 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the vermouth and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the stock (or water), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf, rosemary, salt and ground black pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes to reduce and thicken.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaf and serve (at this point, prior to serving, if you want a creamy soup, blend with an immersion blender until smooth).
