Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

• servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup, extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 medium, onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)

3 medium, garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)

pinch, hot red pepper flakes (optional)

1 , bay leaf

2 (28-ounce) cans, whole tomatoes packed in juice

1 tablespoon, brown sugar

3 large slices, good-quality sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces

2 cups, low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons, brandy (optional)

, Salt and ground black pepper

1/4 cup, chopped fresh chives

Directions

Recipe Instructions

If half of the soup fills your blender by more than two-thirds, process the soup in three batches. You can also use an immersion blender to process the soup directly in the pot. For an even smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before stirring in the broth in step 2. To make this dish vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.

Test Kitchen Techniques

Nutrition

• Calories: 162
• Total Fat: 8 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0 miligrams
• Sodium: 714 miligrams
• Total Carbohydrate: 13 g
• Total Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 5 g