Homemade tomato soup – easy cheat recipe

There really is nothing quite like homemade tomato soup to brighten you up if you are feeling a bit down or under the weather. The taste of the Mediterranean. Thoughts of sunshine, blue skies, crystal clear seas and warmer climes. All from a little bowl of soup!

Tomato soup is one of the biggest , if not the biggest selling variety of all canned soups found in supermarkets.

There is nothing wrong with eating ready made canned soups for a quick meal for one when you are on your own. However, if you have guests, or holding an informal dinner party, opening a can and warming the contents doesn’t demonstrate much effort on your behalf. They will know!

Never fear. There is a way around this. Cheat!

Question? What tastes exactly like homemade tomato soup but isn’t actually homemade?
Answer. The tomato soup made using this recipe.

I served this soup for contractors for years in my friends hotel. Most days the feed back and comments on the homemade tomato soup would be enough for me to keep cheating with the soup, and saving myself hours of time without risking the guests being dissatisfied. It went down a storm. Many guests actually saying it was the best tomato soup they have ever had. Fact!

I’m not saying it’s not worth spending the time slow roasting tomato’s etc., and putting the time and effort into making a proper homemade tomato soup. What I am saying is when time is short this is a really close second in taste and so much easier.

Ingredients

1 can good quality shop bought tomato soup
1 can good quality chopped tomato’s
1 clove of garlic – crushed.
1/2 Onion very finely chopped or puree in a blender.
Bunch of fresh Basil
Salt & Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning.
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Add the extra virgin olive oil to a large pan over moderate heat.
Add the onion & Garlic, increase heat slightly and cook until onion has completely softened but not coloured.
Add the cans of tomato soup and chopped tomato’s stir until blended.
Finely chop and add a handful of fresh basil leaves, pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Continue to cook until soup is piping hot and flavours have combined. Usually around 5-10 minutes. Don’t allow soup to boil as it will impair the flavour.

Serve in a warm bowl decorated with a few basil leaves and an extra grind of black pepper.

Perfect cheats homemade tomato soup. Would you tell your guests the truth ?