Once in a blue moon, I get an intense craving for a warm delicous bowl of tangy, savory, tomato soup.  I wanted to share a recipe for what is one of the best-known and loved staples of American pop culture, because when these cravings arise I can never find a healthy canned option in the supermarket; there is either too much sodium, or high fructose corn syrup, or other artificial additives that I don’t want to ingest.

So as a gift to others who may have the same craving, I decided to share with you a recipe I found back in 1999 in Low Calorie/Low Fat Recipes magazine and have slightly modified to satisfy my most staunch desires and more closely resemble a version my grandma used to make and for which I have found only one restaurant in LA that comes close to matching it. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to write with any suggestions or alternative ways you may have made yours.

Food Diva’s All Natural Tomato Soup

What you need:

• Olive Oil (I use about a teaspoon)
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• 2 stalks of chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
• 3 14 1/4 ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans low sodium chicken broth
• 3 ounces (or a half a 6 oz can) of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup cooked basmati rice
• Food Processor or Blender

*optional – light dairy sour cream, reduced fat pesto, fresh thyme sprig, basmati rice

What to do:

Separately prepare rice per instructions, typically 2 parts water to one part rice, bring to a boil then lower to simmer, covered, until water has evaporated and rice can be fluffed with a fork (do not overcook).

Grab a large pot and heat the olive oil in it.  Adding the ginger, celery,onion, garlic for 1-2 minutes or until the fragrance opens (NOT BROWNS).

DRAIN THE TOMATOES

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, and sugar.

Cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Next take 4 cups of the soup and place in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Return the remaining puree to the pot and heat until completely hot but not boiling.

When it is time to serve stir in lemon juice and balsamic vinegar to bring all the flavors together. Add a cup of cooked rice to the cooling soup for extra texture (a trick I learned from my grandmother).

For an added bonus, garnish with a dollop of pesto and float a thyme sprig on top.

Pour into bowls and enjoy!

It should make about 9 servings and in my opinon even tastes delicious cold.

Tags: all natural tomato soup recipe, tangy tomato soup with rice