Mmm, Mmm, Good
Tomato and Thyme Soup
I adore a good tomato soup. In my opinion, there is nothing more comforting on a brisk fall evening or a cold, dreary day. I thought I pretty much had tomato soup nailed with this recipe. Then back in July, my boss gave me the cookbook Soups: 365 Delicious and Nutritious Recipes by Beverly LeBlanc. This book has just about any kind of soup recipe you could possibly want – cold, hot, vegetable, fruit, German, Asian, brothy, chunky. You get the idea.
This recipe caught my eye because of the polenta dumplings. I’m a fan of creamy cheesy polenta as well and I loved the idea of using it to make dumplings.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the dumplings. I thought they were just a tad gritty when I bit into them. The soup on the other hand was the star of the show. Smooth, tangy and creamy, it’s what Campbell’s tomato soup should taste like. Next time I think I’ll add some chopped basil and a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.
| Tomato and Thyme Soup with Polenta Dumplings |
- Tomato Soup:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 2 cans (15 oz. each) crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 bunch thyme, about ½ oz. tied together plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Polenta Dumplings:
- 2 cups polenta (corn grits)
- 1/2 cup self rising flour, plus extra for shaping
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Heat butter and oil together in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Once butter has melted, add onions. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1-3 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and cook approximately 4-6 minutes until wine almost evaporates. Decrease heat to low.
- Stir in flour and powdered mustard. Cook two minutes to get rid of the raw taste of the flour. Gradually add vegetable stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Then add tomatoes, thyme tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat a simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Place a colander over a large mixing bowl. Strain the soup through the colander into the bowl, scraping the bottom of the colander with a large spoon. Discard solids left in the colander. Return soup to the pot.
- Add cream and heat through.
- Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves if desired.
- Bring a large saucepan full of water to a boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flour, baking powder, parsley, and salt. Form a well in the middle of the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Pour egg mixture into the middle of the well. Stir gently until the dough becomes thick and crumbly.
- Using about two tablespoons of dough, gently roll dough into balls, using extra flour if necessary to help shaping.
- Lower the heat to medium-low. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower dumplings into the boiling water. Once they rise to the surface, boil for 10 minutes.
- Transfer dumpling to soup or if not using immediately, transfer to a plate, pour off excess water, and allow to cool. Drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking, and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to one day.
- Makes 12-24 dumplings.
If freezing, follow recipe through Step 4. Complete Step 5 and prepare polenta dumplings prior to serving.
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Now this looks cooks! wow
-grace
This is the first time I have ever seen polenta dumplings. . . Are they light or quiet heavy? The photos look amazing. Grilled cheese on the side sounds like the perfect match for a tomato soup. We also used a take on grilled cheese with our French Onion soup this week. http://ahintofgarlic.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/dont-cry-its-only-soup/ Please take a look its just the thing for a cold windy Autum ( sorry, Fall )
The reminded me a lot of spaetzle. I don’t know if you’ve ever had that. I thought they were a little heavy. If I try them again I might make them smaller. When I made them as directed, the outside was done but the center was still gritty.
I have become such a soup lover lately so I really can’t wait to try this! Too bad the polenta dumplings weren’t a hit…they sound like they should be super delicious!
This looks fantastic!love the idea of using polenta for the dumplings
Can’t wait to try.
This looks really really fantastic – the polenta dumplings are a really delicious addition! Nice recipes.
This soup sounds perfect for fall! We make soup dumplings from semolina (cream of wheat) that are probably similar, but since the semolina is not as coarse as polenta, they’re not gritty.
Too bad about the dumplings because the idea is superb! I’ll take the soup, however. I also love a good tomato soup. What a nice boss to gift a cookbook to you! xo
The soup was fabulous! My 5 year old loved it. However, I did make a couple of adaptations… first, I blended everything in my Vitamix, instead of straining it. Second, I added 1% milk instead of whole milk. It was velvety smooth! Also, I’ll probably add a grilled cheese instead of the polenta next time around. But, the soup recipe will be my go-to tomato soup recipe!
That’s great! I’m so glad it was a success!