This recipe, like many I cook, has been adapted from Cooks Illustrated. If you don’t know about Cooks Illustrated or America’s Test Kitchen, and you are particular about recipes being as close to perfect as they can get, this is the place for you. They do their best to break down every recipe for the home cook so we can become better cooks; one recipe at a time.

Tomato soup is one of those American comfort food classics; it looms large in the imagination, sitting next to a grilled cheese sandwich. Nothing could be more comforting than soup and cheese! But the creamy tomato soup of my imagination was just that – imagination. I didn’t actually want cream in my creamy soup. All of that was solved by the ingenious idea, adapted from Cooks Illustrated, of adding bread instead of cream for equally delicious results. This makes this soup not just comforting but also suitable to be served in my kosher home, not just with grilled cheese, but alternatively with meatloaf – another all-American comfort food!

TIP: For an extra kick, serve with Tabasco-type sauce on the side.

INGREDIENTS:

• 60ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 x 400g (4 x 14 ounces) tins (cans) chopped tomatoes packed in juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 large slices, sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 480ml (2 cups) low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
• Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Using a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed saucepan, over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently until onions are very soft and starting to turn golden 7 to 9 minutes. Add the garlic, and bay leaf, stir in until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Use the vegetable broth to ‘rinse’ the tomato tins, and add the broth from the tins into the soup. Add the bread and reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and brandy (if using, and bring to the boil), boil for 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
2. Blend the soup using either a blender, or an immersion blender to process the soup directly in the pot. For an even smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before serving.

MAKE AHEAD:

1. Store it in the fridge until ready to serve, and heat the soup through before serving. The soup can be made up to three days before serving.
2. The cooked, fully cooled soup can be stored in the freezer for up to two months.