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Tomato soup is searched for most in the middle of winter, which is the worst possible time to buy a fresh tomato in New Zealand. That sounds like a problem. It isn’t, and the reason is the single most useful thing on this page.
Serves 4, about 50 minutes.
In winter, tinned tomatoes are better than fresh
This feels wrong and it is true.
Tinned tomatoes are picked ripe, in season, and processed within hours. A February glasshouse tomato in a New Zealand supermarket in July was picked hard and green so it would survive transport and shelf life, and it has never developed much sugar or flavour. Cooked down into a soup, the tin wins comfortably and costs a third as much.
Use whole peeled tomatoes rather than chopped. Chopped tinned tomatoes are usually the lower-grade fruit and often contain calcium chloride as a firming agent, which stops the pieces breaking down properly no matter how long you simmer. Crush the whole ones with your hands in the pan.
In summer, when a good ripe tomato is two dollars a kilo at a roadside stall, roast them instead. See the variation at the end — it’s a genuinely better soup for about six weeks of the year.
Roast the aromatics, don’t just soften them
Onion and garlic simply softened in oil give you a sweet, flat base. Cooked longer, over a gentle heat, until they start to take on colour, they give you depth. Ten to twelve minutes rather than five, and it’s most of the difference between a tomato soup that tastes of tomato and one that tastes of something.
A tablespoon of tomato paste fried in for a minute before the liquid goes in does the same job — cooking the paste concentrates and caramelises it rather than leaving it raw and metallic.
Fixing the acidity
Tomatoes are acidic, and a long simmer concentrates that. If the finished soup tastes sharp or thin, you have two options and they do different things.
Sugar balances the acid by masking it. A teaspoon is usually enough; it doesn’t make the soup sweet, it just rounds it off. This is the standard fix and it’s what most recipes reach for.
A pinch of baking soda actually neutralises the acid chemically rather than covering it. It will foam alarmingly for a few seconds — that’s carbon dioxide, it’s fine, and it settles. Use no more than 1/4 teaspoon for this quantity, because too much gives a soapy, metallic flavour that can’t be fixed.
Sugar is safer. Baking soda is more effective. Taste before doing either — good tinned tomatoes often need neither.
Blend it properly
A stick blender in the pot is convenient and leaves the soup slightly grainy from the tomato skins and seeds. A jug blender gives a much smoother result. For a genuinely silky soup, blend and then pass it through a sieve, which takes five minutes and is worth it if you’re serving it to people.
Fill a jug blender no more than half full with hot liquid, and hold the lid down with a folded tea towel. Hot soup expands violently and will lift the lid off.
Frequently asked questions
Are tinned or fresh tomatoes better for tomato soup?
In winter, tinned — comfortably. Tinned tomatoes are picked ripe and processed immediately, where out-of-season fresh ones were picked green for transport. In summer, roasted fresh tomatoes make a better soup.
Why is my tomato soup too acidic?
Tomatoes are acidic and simmering concentrates it. A teaspoon of sugar masks the sharpness; a pinch of baking soda (no more than 1/4 tsp) chemically neutralises it and works better, but too much tastes soapy.
Should I use whole or chopped tinned tomatoes?
Whole peeled. Chopped tinned tomatoes are usually lower-grade fruit and often contain a firming agent that stops them breaking down properly. Crush whole ones by hand.
How do I make tomato soup creamier without cream?
Blend a boiled potato into it, or add 1/4 cup of red lentils with the stock — both thicken it and give body. A slice of bread blended in is the old Italian approach.
Can I freeze tomato soup?
Yes, for three months, but freeze it before adding the cream. Cream can split on thawing. Stir it in when reheating.
Why is my soup grainy?
Tomato skins and seeds. A jug blender does a better job than a stick blender, and passing it through a sieve afterwards makes it properly smooth.
Do I have to peel fresh tomatoes?
If you’re roasting them, no — the skins soften and blend in, and they carry flavour. If you’re simmering them, yes, or you’ll get shreds of skin through the soup.
What do I serve with it?
Cheese on toast is the honest answer. A toasted cheese sandwich cut into fingers for dipping is better.
Variations
- Roasted summer tomato — 1.5 kg ripe tomatoes halved, tossed with olive oil, garlic and thyme, roasted at 200°C for 40 minutes until collapsed and caramelised, then blended with 2 cups of stock. Skip the tinned tomatoes and the sugar entirely.
- Roasted red pepper — two peppers roasted and blended in with the tomatoes.
- Spicy — a pinch of chilli flakes with the garlic and a swirl of yoghurt to serve.
- Tomato and basil — a large handful of basil blended in at the end rather than torn on top.
- Tomato and lentil — 1/2 cup red lentils with the stock, for a thicker and more substantial soup.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 25 g butter
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tins whole peeled tomatoes 400 g
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 500 ml
- 1 tsp sugar or a pinch of baking soda, see above
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1/2 cup Cream 125 ml, optional
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- basil leaves to serve
Ingredients
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- Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and just beginning to colour at the edges. Don't rush this.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and fry it for a minute until it darkens slightly.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, crushing each one with your hand or the back of a spoon as it goes in. Add the stock and the thyme.
- Bring to a simmer and cook, partly covered, for 25 minutes.
- Fish out the thyme stalks. Blend until smooth — in a jug blender, no more than half full at a time, with the lid held down under a tea towel. For a silky soup, pass it through a sieve afterwards.
- Return to the pan, taste, and season generously. If it tastes sharp, add the sugar, or a pinch of baking soda (it will foam briefly). Taste again before adding more.
- Stir in the cream if using and warm through without boiling.
- Serve with basil torn over, and something cheesy on toast alongside.