Tomato Soup

I’ve wanted to can my own tomato soup, mainly because I love tomato soup and homemade soup is so much better than anything out of a can! I also really like the idea of knowing what’s in my food.   This week I found Roma tomatoes on sale for $0.91 at Tom Thumb, plus I had a $5 off $20 purchase coupon. 

Roma tomatoes are ideal for making soup and tomato sauce because they are less watery than other varieties.  Armed with my coupon, we headed to Tom Thumb for 22lbs worth of tomatoes for $15! 

Next in my process was to find the perfect recipe.  I modified this pressure cooker recipe for Nordstrom Tomato Basil Soup served in the Nordstrom Restaurant.

Ingredients:  

• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 oz Carrots peeled and chopped
• 8 oz Yellow Onion chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoon white sugar
• 84 oz fresh diced and peeled tomatoes 
• 1 cup Chicken Stock/Broth
• 2 teaspoons Morton Canning and Pickling Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• ¼ tsp Citric Acid per pint jar (when canning) 

Instructions:

• Begin by washing, coring, peeling and dicing your tomatoes. 
• Chop up the carrots, onions, and garlic. 
• Set your Instant Pot to Sauté.   Add oil, carrots, onions, garlic, dried basil and dried parsley. Sauté for 4 minutes or until vegetables start to caramelize and the onions become a bit translucent.
• Add diced tomatoes, sugar, Worcestershire Sauce and chicken broth.
• Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve.  Cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes.
• When beep is heard, allow a full Natural Pressure Release.
• Using an immersion blender, blend soup until it’s smooth.  Add salt and pepper. 
• Using a funnel fill your sterilized pint jars leaving 1/2” headspace.  Add ¼ tsp Citric Acid to each pint jar.  Wipe the rims of your jars down with vinegar and seal with heated lids and rims.  Process the pints for 25 minutes at 10lbs of pressure in a Pressure Canner.  

Today I made three batches of this recipe yielding 12 Ball Pint Jars of soup.  Plus I still have tomatoes left over!

When serving the soup, heat one pint of soup with 1 cup of cream (or milk) added.  It is not recommended to can milk products so you’re adding the cream when serving.  Garnish with fresh basil and a grilled cheese sandwich! 

Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.”
 Genesis 25:30