Classic tomato soup

The American comfort classic: ripe tomatoes roasted with onion and garlic, blended with stock and cream and finished with fresh basil: the soup that Campbell's put in a tin in 1897 and that Andy Warhol made immortal, here made properly from scratch

Origin: United States

From the journey of Tomato.

Tomato soup has a deeply American identity, shaped almost entirely by the commercial condensed tomato soup that Joseph A. Campbell introduced in 1897. Campbell's tomato soup became one of the first mass-produced convenience foods in American history, bright red, sweet, intensely tomatoey, and heated with equal parts milk or water, it was eaten by generations of Americans as a school lunch, a sick-day comfort, and a quick weekday meal. Andy Warhol's 32 Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) elevated the tin to a cultural icon and the soup to the status of American pop mythology. Before Campbell's industrialisation, tomato soup had been made at home in American kitchens throughout the 19th century, early American cookbooks (including Mary Randolph's 1824 'The Virginia Housewife') contain tomato soup recipes that are essentially purées of cooked tomatoes with butter and seasonings. The home-made version is entirely superior to the commercial product: the tomatoes roasted in the oven develop a caramelised sweetness; the cream provides genuine richness; the fresh basil adds what the tin entirely lacks. This recipe roasts the tomatoes first: the step that most distinguishes a genuinely delicious homemade tomato soup from an adequate one.

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1.2 kg ripe tomatoes, halved (or 2 x 400g cans whole plum tomatoes for off-season)
  • 1 large onion, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 500 ml good vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

Finishing

  • 100 ml double cream (or crème fraîche), plus extra to serve
  • 1 large handful fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Arrange the halved tomatoes cut-side up in a single layer on a large roasting tray. Add the onion wedges and unpeeled garlic cloves. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with sugar and salt.
  2. Roast for 40–45 minutes until the tomatoes are collapsing, charred at the edges, and deeply caramelised. The onions should be golden and the garlic soft and fragrant. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
  3. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins. Transfer all the roasted vegetables (including all the juices from the tray: scrape everything up) to a large saucepan. Add the tomato paste and stock.
  4. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add the basil leaves. Cook for 5 minutes. Use a stick blender to blend completely smooth, or transfer to a jug blender in batches (be careful with hot liquids: fill only half-full, hold the lid firmly).
  5. For a silky, restaurant-quality soup: pass through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly with a ladle. For a home-style, more textured soup: leave unsieved.
  6. Return the soup to low heat. Stir in the cream. Season generously with salt: tomato soup needs more salt than you expect. Add cayenne if using. The soup should be bright, sweet-acidic, deeply tomatoey, and rich.
  7. Serve in warm bowls with a swirl of cream, fresh basil leaves, and crusty bread or a classic grilled cheese sandwich: the American pairing that needs no justification.

Notes

The sugar added during roasting is important: it accelerates the caramelisation of the tomatoes and compensates for the acidity of less-than-perfectly-ripe fruit. In summer with perfect tomatoes, omit it. In winter with supermarket tomatoes, it is essential.

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