CHALLENGE: Fantastic vegetable soup without canned tomatoes - can it be done?

[Flaxbee]

If so, please leave me your recipes!

I'm scouring the intertubes for delicious veggie soup recipes that don't use canned tomatoes ... DUers are usually pretty good recipe-providers so I thought I'd toss the question in here for anyone interested enough to reply.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[NYC_SKP]

1. I'm not genius but I do make a lot of soup.

I use tomato juice and tomatoes (fresh or canned) much of the time but would love to try creating fun liquid stock with other liquids, like using a juicer for celery carrot beet juices, etc.

I don't see tomatoes as absolutely necessary to veggie soup, there are non-red varieties out there, right?

No recipes to share but I'd love to see what others have done!

[Flaxbee]

11. huh. I love beets; hadn't even thought of that.

Will let you know if I experiment with that idea. Thanks! Beet and celery together could be good.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. !!!

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http://www.yummly.com/recipes/vegetable-soup-without-tomatoes
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[Flaxbee]

10. thanks, MFM! Looks like a good link.

[cliffordu]

3. Any cream soup, pretty much....

Or French Onion...

[Trailrider1951]

4. To use fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones,

you need to peel them. Immerse your fresh tomatoes in water that has been brought to a boil, and removed from the heat. Immerse them for about 30 seconds, then remove them and let them cool down for a few minutes. The outer peels can then be removed easily along with the central core. Then chop the tomatoes and add to your soup. A little extra step, but worth it if you want to use fresh tomatoes.

[Flaxbee]

9. Not too much work, no ... just thinking there won't be too many great fresh tomatoes

now that summer is over.

Thanks

[DFW]

5. Sure. My wife makes a great one

Vegetable broth, put in some lightly sautéed eggplant, zucchini, boiled potatoes, cherry tomatoes (fresh and halved), crushed garlic and artichoke hearts (expensive, but use generously anyway). Mushrooms are an option, but if you use them, sautée them and only put them into the mix at the very end, so they stay fresh and don't get soggy. Salt and pepper to suit taste. Olive oil only to sautée the veggies, and do it not too hot and quick. Optional: broccoli heads for one, and instead of boiled potatoes, first sautée them over medium heat, first soaking them in olive oil and then letting them get coated with cajun spice, simmered in the olive oil for a little while before tossing them into the soup.

You can eat this for two or three days and not get tired of it.

[Flaxbee]

7. that's the goal - I'm looking for a good recipe I can freeze and/or use for lunches for 2-3 days

per week .... we've gotten into the very bad habit of running out to Five Guys (for their veggie burger, which isn't great) or Chipotle and I'd much rather use our nice office kitchen to reheat something delicious without tons of salt and calories...

Thanks. What kind of artichoke hearts do you use? I'm guessing from jars -- or do you save them after having fresh chokes?

[DFW]

12. I wish!

We sometimes get them fresh from Spain or Italy, but usually use the one we get our of a jar.

I've never been to a Five Guys, so I can't make any comparison.

[Arugula Latte]

6. Yes! I recently had some cherry tomatoes and peppers to use up

I cooked onion, garlic, shallot, the tomatoes and the cut-up peppers in some oil and then added water and chicken bouillion. Added salt and pepper. After a bit of simmering (not that long) I blended the whole shebang up with an immersion blender and put it through a strainer to get rid of the bits of unblended tomato peel, seeds, etc. It was creamy and deeeelish.

[Flaxbee]

8. sounds nice. Our tomatoes (well, our neighbor's tomatoes which he shared quite generously) are

pretty much gone -- and I really don't want to use canned tomatoes. Just don't really like them. So looking for something with fewer tomatoes ...

[magical thyme]

13. easy, peasy...

Mashed potatoes and/or mashed cauliflower make excellent "cream-based" stocks. You can also boil down carrot rounds and mash those in with the cauliflower and or potato for a slightly different stock. Also, mashed cannoli beans (the big white beans) also make an excellent "cream-based" stock. I add a little soy milk along with some water to make them broth-like.

I've just finished making "sorrel-soup," using peruvian purple and carola potatoes from my garden, along with sorrel also from my garden, and onions.

And just last week, I made beets from my garden, and used the red juice from that to boil and mash purple potatos into, to make soup stock. Then I just add the other veggies and simmer them in...

I may or may not add spike.

[KurtNYC]

14. I made tomato soup from scratch last year

peeled and seeded until my hands were stinging from the acid. Nice, brightly flavored soup which benefited from butter at the end but a heck of a lot of work.

Now I see the genius that Andy Warhol celebrated -- tomato soup without all that work.

[DFW]

15. In the meantime, if you can find a copy of the old tale "Stone Soup"

Everything you need to know (leaving out the beef and the atone) is in there.

[GoCubsGo]

16. Roasted root vegetable soup

1/4 c. olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thick rounds
1 large parsnip, peeled and cubed
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, quartered
3 bay leaves
4 thyme sprigs
3 rosemary sprigs
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 400F.

Tosss prepared vegetables with olive oil until coated. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Tuck in the herbs among the vegetables. Roast about 50 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure they brown easily. Discard the herbs. Transfer the vegetables to a large pot. Add the Stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, season to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until thick and smooth. (Or, blend in pot with immersion blender.) Season and serve with a dollop of sour cream.


** You can vary the various vegetables based on taste and availability. I usually leave out the parsnips (add extra carrot or two) and use extra onion in place of the leeks. Any winter squash, such as acorn, will also work instead of butternut. Rutabagas and turnips also work well here.

***You can substitute dried herbs for fresh. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of each over the vegetables before roasting them.

[Flaxbee]

19. yum. love squash.

sounds good, thanks!

[Walk away]

17. I make a roasted carrot and pureed cashew soup

It's basically onions, a few garlic cloves and lots of little carrots roasted until caramelized. Add water and a little white wine and simmer for 30 minutes in a large pot. Add pureed cashews, fresh herbs and salt & Pepper to taste.
I garnish with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

[Flaxbee]

20. wow - the cashews must add a terrific flavor.

Thanks for the idea!

[Walk away]

23. Plus protein and creamyness.

I got the idea from an old Moosewood recipe that used peanuts. You can use almost any nut you care to try and also switch the carrots out for parsnips or use both.

[Grey]

18. google Baked Potato soup.

any vegetable from cauliflower to carrots can be used but I really like potato and bacon with a dollop of sour cream.

[Go Vols]

21. Canned tomatoes

kick ass.We canned 32 quarts and is great every year.

[davsand]

22. Leek Potato would be my choice.

If you want a veg version only, use almond milk in place of the cream... Pretty much any cream based soup can be varied that way.

I'd suggest a mushroom barley soup of you have some good veg stock available to you. Use some nice portabellas for that "meaty" chew...



Laura