Buttery Tomato Soup

Who says all vegetable soups have to be healthy? This rich tomato soup recipe comes from a popular Napa Valley bistro called Bistro Jeanty and has a simple ingredient list: Tomatoes, onions, garlic, bay leaf, butter, cream and an egg. I like how the chef walks through every step in the process, and gives advice on how to best cool the soup to maximize the flavors.

This isn’t the soup if you’re on a diet, but if you want to splurge (or impress holiday guests), you can’t go wrong here!

Here are the ingredients from the chef’s You Tube channel:

• 2 1/2 lbs ripe/juicy tomatoes
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 pound of onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/4 c of tomato paste
•  1 bay leaf,
• 1/2 Tb. pepper corns
•  1 tsp. thyme
•  4 cups heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 lb. puff pastry
• 1 egg

If the thought of using heavy cream concerns you, here is one idea I just found for a substitute. Of course there are also alternatives for the butter or you could use part butter and part olive oil.

Healthy Heavy Cream Substitute

• 1 cup of milk (non-fat and 1% work just fine)
• 2 tbsp of cornstarch
• 1 tbsp of flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)

Note: This recipe calls for 4 cups of heavy cream so multiply the ingredients times 4.

In a small bowl, whisking the milk vigorously, add the cornstarch and then the flour. Whisk until the mixture begins to thicken. Add it to your soup and give it a minute or three to thicken everything up. The best approach is to immersion blend the substitute into at least a portion of the soup.

Soups like these benefit from a high-quality strainer. If your kitchen needs one, I recommend this stainless steel model, which is durable, looks great and is very affordable. Check it out below.