Classic Tomato Soup From Fine Cooking Issue 91 March 2008 Recipes

Steps:

• In a non-reactive 5- to 6-quart stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat to melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic, stirring periodically until translucent and soft. Take care not to brown them (which is what I accidentally did). Stir in the flour until the onion and garlic are coated. Pour in the broth, puréed tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring to prevent any sticking on the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat to low and let the soup simmer, covered for 40 minutes. Remove the thyme sprig and let the soup cool a little before puréeing it in a blender or a food processor. Rinse the pot (or do like I did and just grab another one) and pour in the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper and reheat if it has cooled too much. Serve warm, garnished with herbs.

Steps:

• In a 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; add oil and onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.
• To saucepan, add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes. (Remove thyme sprigs before blending.)
• Using an immersion blender, puree soup in pot, leaving a fair amount of the tomatoes in chunks. Or, working in several batches, puree half (5 cups) of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth; return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.