I'm sharing with you the by far easiest way I've come up with to make a delicious puréed soup every time! This recipe works for not just tomato ricotta soup as I've made below, but any other ingredient combinations you can think of (e.g. curried sweet potato, butternut squash, roasted red pepper, cream of broccoli, etc.). It is a great base recipe for you to work with your own ingredients and make delicious creations all your own!
3-Step Soup Steps:
3-Step Soup Steps:
- Put ingredients in crock pot (or you can use a regular pot on the stove).
- Cook.
- Purée.
I don't have exact measurements because I just use whatever and however much I have. I'll give guidelines for the spices I used though.
Here you go:
Ingredients
For my vegetables/fruits I used about 7 tomatoes (I cut into halves, but you can just leave them whole), 1 red pepper (you can leave whole or cut up), and 1 onion (whole or cut up).
For my spices I used about 1/2 tablespoon basil (perfect pairing for tomatoes), 1/4 teaspoon salt (brings out all the flavours), and 1 tablespoon fresh garlic (because in this house we love garlic).
I also added a splash of chicken broth (about 1/8 cup) and a dash of olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) for 'fat'. You don't need a lot, but if you make a soup without a fat of some kind (especially in a vegetable/fruit based recipe), it won't have the same depth of flavours and it will taste kind of "flat". If you don't believe me look at the ingredients in ANY of your favourite canned soups!
Directions
For my soup I also added a tub of ricotta cheese after everything was cooked, but before I blended it. If you're making a cream soup, you'll often want to add the cream/milk/cheese at the end before puréeing so it gets warm, but doesn't cook. However, most times I just add my milk with all my other ingredients (because it's easier!) but it may give your soup an "off" taste - I've never had a problem personally but I've heard that some people can taste 'scalded milk' and others cannot.
The picture below is of my soup with the ricotta after puréeing and jarred! I've labelled it soup/sauce so in the future I can use it as a base for pasta or meats. I just put the jars in the freezer to use for another time!
Here you go:
Ingredients
- Vegetables/fruits
- A fat (oil, butter, lard, etc.)
- A pinch of salt
- Liquid (needed when your vegetables or fruits don't have much water content - e.g. broccoli)
- Spices (optional)
For my vegetables/fruits I used about 7 tomatoes (I cut into halves, but you can just leave them whole), 1 red pepper (you can leave whole or cut up), and 1 onion (whole or cut up).
For my spices I used about 1/2 tablespoon basil (perfect pairing for tomatoes), 1/4 teaspoon salt (brings out all the flavours), and 1 tablespoon fresh garlic (because in this house we love garlic).
I also added a splash of chicken broth (about 1/8 cup) and a dash of olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) for 'fat'. You don't need a lot, but if you make a soup without a fat of some kind (especially in a vegetable/fruit based recipe), it won't have the same depth of flavours and it will taste kind of "flat". If you don't believe me look at the ingredients in ANY of your favourite canned soups!
Directions
- Cook on low in the crockpot for three hours or until it looks done (I cooked mine for 5.5 hours because that's how long it took me to get home from work from when I turned it on). You can also cook it on low in a covered pot on the stove for 3 or so hours.
- When it's done cooking, just use a stick blender in the pot until it's puréed to your desired consistency.
For my soup I also added a tub of ricotta cheese after everything was cooked, but before I blended it. If you're making a cream soup, you'll often want to add the cream/milk/cheese at the end before puréeing so it gets warm, but doesn't cook. However, most times I just add my milk with all my other ingredients (because it's easier!) but it may give your soup an "off" taste - I've never had a problem personally but I've heard that some people can taste 'scalded milk' and others cannot.
The picture below is of my soup with the ricotta after puréeing and jarred! I've labelled it soup/sauce so in the future I can use it as a base for pasta or meats. I just put the jars in the freezer to use for another time!