Tomato soup topped with a garnish of chives.
Tomato soup, served as a main meal or side dish, offers comfort food rich in color, nutrients and vitamins. Starting with a large batch of soup, you can serve this basic dish extended with different seasonings and combinations of grains and vegetables for hearty meals during a busy week.
Adding to the Soup Base
For variety, try adding strips of greens such as chard, kale or spinach. Sliced mushrooms, plus fresh or dried oregano, or basil make elegant additions. Tender cooked white beans plus saut ed onions and garlic also give texture and flavor. For a hearty tomato soup, stir in crumbled cooked sausage or bacon. Serving with slices of leftover roast beef or chicken plus rice adds protein. You can experiment with different kinds of cooked pasta, such as fusilli, macaroni and alphabet to appeal to children's tastes.
Seasonal Soup
If possible, try adding locally grown, in-season vegetables to your tomato soup servings. Winter vegetables roasted, then cut in small pieces include squash, sweet potatoes and turnips. In summer, experiment with collards, eggplant, shallots, kohlrabi and okra. A colorful garden soup includes corn kernels, cauliflower florets, peas, green beans and carrots. For holiday celebrations, such as Thanksgiving, tomato soup can include shredded cabbage, leeks and winter squash.
Grains and International Tastes
Healthy grains complement the basic tomato soup. Try adding a scoop of cooked rice, couscous, barley, quinoa or other cooked grain in a soup bowl. Ladle the rich, hot soup around the scoop or over top. Tomato soup recipes easily adapt ingredients from internationally inspired cuisines. For an Asian touch, try stirring in diced, firm tofu plus greens, such as tender bok choy. A more European taste includes different cheeses grated as a garnish.
Vegetable Garnishes
Garnishes add color, texture and nutritional variety to the tomato soup. As an alternative to crackers, you can make croutons with seasoned, diced bread baked on a single layer on a baking sheet. Vegetable garnishes include grated parsnip, carrot curls and shredded zucchini. Chopped parsley, chives or cilantro make a deep green garnish that contrasts well with the rich, red soup.
Other Uses
A thicker version tops meals much like a gravy over meatloaf and pasta dishes. Tomato soup also becomes a barbecue sauce with saut ed onion, celery, plus any hot sauce, if desired. This soup also teams well in casseroles, such as tomato beef casserole with ground beef and medium noodles and corn. In some casserole recipes, you can substitute tomato soup for water or other liquid. This soup also adds a vegetable when mixed in with popular macaroni and cheese dishes. Ladling into a partially hollowed sourdough roll or other large, firm bread roll makes an edible bowl.
Future Servings
Freezing tomato soup allows time-saving on days when you have little time to prepare soup from scratch. Small freezer containers, freezer bags and ice cube trays hold soup for future use. Cream soups tend to freeze less successfully because the soup separates. Allow the soup to cool before refrigerating or freezing.
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