Tag Archives: winter dinners

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

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fire roasted tomato soup

Mmmm, perfect tomato soup for a cold night.

fireroastedtomatosoup2

Add a dollop of pesto and some cheeeeeze!

My mom made this soup when I was recently home for a visit. It is perfect with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine. My version omitted the celery tops (because I rarely buy celery), but it is good with the celery and I used dried basil because I forgot to buy fresh basil (whoops!). The addition of sun-dried tomatoes gives the soup a nice depth. Anyway, I got to use my immersion blender which is one of my favorite kitchen tools ever.

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

  • 1TB butter
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 3/4C finely chopped carrots
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 1TB dried basil or 10 large basil leaves, torn
  • 4 sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil
  • 1 28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • chopped celery tops
  • 1 14oz can of vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper
  • dollop of pesto (to add on top when served, if desired)

Melt butter in stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes, or, until soft. Add the sugar, basil, celery tops and salt and pepper, cook for 5 more minutes. Then add the canned tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and broth. Stir and let simmer for about an hour. Check on it occasionally and stir. Remove from heat and use an immersion hand blender to puree the soup (or, you can use a blender instead). Pour soup into bowls, dollop with pesto and a little bit of Pecorino or parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mushroom Soup

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The aroma of sautéeing mushrooms, onions, garlic, butter and a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon filled my apartment. Oh, my, was I going to have a nice meal this evening. I had, had mushroom soup in mind for awhile and actually had never made it (I know, weird, right?) until last night. It’s a really simple recipe that comes together pretty quickly. You can use portobello, white or cremini mushrooms, or whatever you have on hand. I used a combination of portobello and white. It’s also a recipe that you can tweak, which is what I did after finding a basic recipe online. Enjoy with a piece of crusty French bread and a glass of wine!

  • 1TB butter, (may need 2)
  • 1 small onion, chopped (or you could use a shallot too)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 tsp of dried thyme (I also added 1 tsp. of rosemary
  • 4-5 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used 6 cups because they cook down)
  • 1 medium potato, diced
  • 1/4 C. flour
  • 4 C. vegetable stock
  • 1/4 C. red wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

1. In saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the onions and garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until softened.

2. Add mushrooms and potato, continue to cook over medium heat. Add the wine if you are using wine. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes.

3. Add flour, stir and break up any lumps of flour. About 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the broth is thickened.