Everything is bad, and fall is quickly approaching, so let’s make some god damned soup.
This is a tomato soup I adapted from the NYT recipe by Jennifer Steinhauer, which she got from a recipe served at Ted’s Bulletin in Washington DC. I hope if any of the senators responsible for trying to push the appointment of unapologetic accused rapist and Roe V. Wade opponent Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court visit Ted’s Bulletin this week that the waiters spit in their soup, or better yet, that they are refused service and heckled the hell out of the restaurant (and hopefully DC itself).
I’ve tweaked the recipe slightly, adding in bacon because, again, everything is bad, so why not add some fucking bacon. You’re welcome to skip the bacon if you’re vegetarian, or use olive oil if you’re vegan. I’ve omitted the sugar that was called for, and added a bit more stock to the soup as well. I hope you’ll make this and fuel yourself up to call your elected officials, organize to protest, or just take a moment for self care in the midst of this hellish political atmosphere. Serve it with a nice toasty grilled cheese to the women in your life that you love and respect, and check in on them while you’re at it. It’s been a really hard week for all of us, and a hard two years if I’m being honest. And if you can spare anything, please consider donating to these organizations:
Tomato Soup, from The New York Times.
Notes: Below this recipe is actually quartered, the original is 4 times this recipe. Scale up as you wish. If you want to omit bacon, use 4 Tablespoons of butter, or Olive Oil for a vegan recipe (minus the finishing milk).
3 strips thick bacon, cut into small pieces
1 onion chopped
2 TB flour
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
3 TB half & half
1. In a large sauce pan on the stove, cook your bacon over medium heat until it’s cooked through. You don’t want it crispy, just rendered with the fat let out.
2. Once the bacon is cooked enough add in your chopped onion. Cook the onions until they’re soft and nearly transparent.
3. Once the onions have softened, stir in the two tablespoons of flour to create a roux. Cook this on medium heat for about 3 minutes until it begins to thicken up and brown slightly.
4. Once the roux has thickened, add in your stock and scrape the bottom of the pan gently to get up any browned roux bits. Then add in your tomatoes and salt and pepper.
5. Stir and bring to up to bubbling on the heat, then reduce heat and let the soup simmer covered on low heat for 30 minutes.
6. Once the simmering is done, remove soup from heat and blend with an immersion blender until pureed into a bisque like consistency. Once this is done stir in the half & half (if using).
7. That’s it! Taste and season if needed, then serve with a nice grilled cheese! Enjoy!