We had it at school…
I let my kid get school lunch – just once! – and he came home raving about this great new meal he’d had at school, tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. So I said I would make him tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches at home, and he was delighted. Of course I couldn’t resist messing with the soup, so my tomato soup has pesto in it, which I suppose the school tomato soup probably didn’t. Still, the kids like it, and they love the grilled cheese sandwiches.
What about the chemicals in canned tomatoes?
You really should make your own tomato sauce in the summertime and freeze or can it for the winter. We do, but this year we badly underestimated how much we would need, and we ran out in early January. So we’ve gotten two cases of boxed tomato sauce – no cans, no chemicals, nothing but tomatoes – and we’re using that.
Is this really healthy?
Yeah, this is pretty healthy. It’s tomatoes, basil, hazelnuts, olive oil, and a little cheese. You could make it healthier by leaving out the cheese.
How to make tomato soup:
Open a box of the Pomi strained tomatoes, or get out a tupperware of frozen tomato sauce from your freezer. Pour two cups of tomato sauce into a saucepan and add two cups of water. Also add about 1/4 cup of pesto, hopefully also from your freezer. Simmer the soup until it is hot and the pesto is all melted, stirring once in a while. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with grilled cheese sandwiches or, to make it healthier, with thyme bread.
Vegetarian or vegan
Just naturally vegetarian! Enjoy! To make it vegan, use vegan pesto (which is just regular pesto without the cheese added). And serve with thyme bread instead of grilled cheese sandwiches.
Can I keep this for later?
Sure. This tomato soup will keep in the fridge for about four or five days and still be good. Have it for lunch all week!