A Soup I Made Up Let’s Call It…Smashed Tomato Soup? IDK!

Like Vivian, I too have been re-watching Vanderpump Rules for a significant chunk of the past several days. But I have also been cooking and trying to virtually help others with their cooking, because not everyone is used to making so many meals for themselves, and I wanna help! 

Full disclosure: I tend to improvise a lot in the kitchen and rarely use precise measurements. My base knowledge for cooking comes from both of my grandmothers, and they seem to share a kitchen philosophy that's summed up by "idk cook it until it's done." I will try to be as specific as possible when sharing recipes but no promises!

Yesterday, I had some fresh tomatoes that I needed to use up because access to fresh produce is probably going to be dicey for the next few weeks and I don’t want anything in my fridge to go to waste. Soup is always an easy thing to do with random shit I’ve got, and that seems to be especially true during self-quarantine. Soup! The ideal social-distancing food.

This is technically a tomato soup in the sense that there are tomatoes in it, but it’s not going to look or feel much like your typical tomato soup because I do not currently have access to my immersion blender or a blender of any kind. But that’s okay! Because the point of this soup is that it can be made with mostly shelf-stable ingredients and also without any fancy kitchen tools.

Here is what I did (with some notes about alternatives/subs if you don’t have all the ingredients):

Throw about eight halved small tomatoes, a chopped jalapeño, chopped half of a white onion, and six garlic cloves with the skin still on into an over-safe dish and drizzle with olive oil and oregano (I used dried because I didn’t have fresh). 

NOTES: You could use a shallot instead of onion or extra garlic or if push comes to shove just shake some onion powder over the tomatoes. No fresh peppers? Put some chili powder or red pepper flakes in there babyyyy. You can also use canned whole tomatoes. Some people like to de-seed when making soups but I frankly do not care!

Pop that mixture into an oven at 375 and roast for 45 minutes to an hour. If you have a baster, you can periodically suck some of the juices that form and squeeze them over the top of the vegetables, but if you don’t then you can just stir the mixture every 15 minutes or so. An extra benefit is that your home is gonna smell really good.

Take the roasted goodies out of the oven and gently squeeze the garlic out of its skin and directly into a soup pot. Dump the rest into the soup pot and add a can diced green chilies (I did a full can but you could also do half since they tend to go a long way and save the other half in the fridge for another recipe).

Add a splash of vinegar (I used rice vinegar but you could use any kind) and four-ish cups (I am not great about measurements! Sorry!) of stock if you’ve got it to the pot and bring to a boil then reduce and let simmer until it cooks down a bit. As it’s simmering, use a potato masher to SMASH THOSE TOMATOES and other goodies up. They won’t break down entirely. A soup that is simultaneously brothy and chunky is the idea here. Which sounds weird! But trust me, it’s good. 

NOTES: If you don’t have stock, you could technically use a broth. But the best alternative would be to use just water and throw a pat of butter in there. You could also use a combo of water and white wine (don't use more than a cup of wine—the rest is for drinking!!!).

Don’t forget to salt to taste. Could also throw other shelf seasonings in there like an Italian blend or celery salt or smoked paprika if you want to give it a smokier taste. I last-minute sprinkled some fish sauce in there and it was a good choice! If you have parmesan rinds sitting around (p.s. always save parmesan rinds) you could also throw those in.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt or labneh or creme fraiche or shredded fresh mozzarella or any shredded cheese or no dairy at all idk your life! I also topped mine with cilantro.

I also served mine with a grilled cheese on the side that I made with plain ol’ sliced bread and sliced medium cheddar but also a very special grilled cheese secret ingredient: smeared creamy horseradish on both slices of the bread. A bonus recipe within a recipe—you’re welcome!