The Art of Living Apie-ly : Spicy Tomato Soup (Zuppa Di Pomodoro Piccante)

The first time I made this soup, I thought it was a horrible mistake. If you're like me, you taste while cooking. It's the best way to figure out what might adjusting and if the recipe is coming along.

I got to #3 in the recipe and tasted. It tasted like a salty, tomato-y mess. I was hugely disappointed. But I hate wasting food. So I finished the recipe. Blended the soup, added the coconut milk and brown sugar. mixed, and tasted again.

It was transformed. It was now the soup of the Gods. Zeus himself eats this soup.

I kid you not, this soup is the bomb. It took no small amount of self control to stop myself from taking the whole pot and a spoon, and eating it all in front of my TV while watching Once Upon A Time.

I made the soup again recently for some friends of mine. We rotate hosting vegan potlucks. It's oodles of fun! They loved the soup too!! And demanded the recipe.

Moral of the story? Make this soup. Do it. Now. The Vegan Gods command you.

And of course, it's from "Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen".

Note 1: The recipe makes enough for about 5 good bowls of soup. Perfect for workday lunches!

Spicy Tomato Soup (Zuppa Di Pomodoro Piccante) - Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen pg. 72

Ingredients

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium sized onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
1 (28 oz) can of fire roasted tomatoes ( I couldn't find a 28 oz can, so I used 2, 398 ml cans. It's roughly the same volume) liquid and all.
3 cups of vegetable broth
1 can of coconut milk, plus extra for drizzling
2 tbsp of brown sugar
chopped fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

1) In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion until soft

2) Add the garlic, salt, Italian seasoning and red pepper, let cook for a minute more, until fragrant

3) Add tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring to a boil

4) Remove from heat and in batches, transfer soup to a blender/food processor and blend until smooth

5) Return to the pot, and stir in the coconut milk and brown sugar

6) reheat and season to taste

7) divide up soup among bowls, garnish with fresh chopped basil and drizzle with more coconut milk

Note 2: The page also includes a second recipe for "rustic croutons" to serve with the soup. I never made em'. The soup is delicious without.

Note 3: I omitted the "drizzle" of coconut milk. I did garnish with basil.

Note 4: The first time I made the soup, my only criticism is that is was a tad salty. In reading reviews of Chloe's recipes, many people seem to reduce the salt she uses. The second time I made the soup, I didn't salt it until after it was completed. So no 2 tsp of salt was added with the garlic and other seasonings. I waited until it was blended with the coconut milk and brown sugar, THEN salted to taste. Both the broth and the canned tomatoes have a good amount of salt. So that adds to the flavour already.