Blame the Millennials or Kate Makes Tomato Soup

A couple weeks ago, several of my friends posted this link on Facebook. The TL:DR of it is, millennials are killing canned tuna. Sales are down about 40%. I'm pretty surprised at this. As one of my friends pointed out, this is cheap, filling protein, and it's reasonably good for you. You'd think a generation that doesn't have a lot of money for groceries would jump all over it.

Anyway, it got me in mind of tuna melts, and since it's cold and often dreary outside I decided I also should make tomato soup to up the comfort food quotient. I did my usual thing of reading a lot of different recipes and came up with the following:

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (these happen to be roasted, but it's not necessary)
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 T unsalted butter (it's probably okay with salted, this is what I had in the fridge)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 generous teaspoon of dried thyme (in other words, don't level it) or 1 Tablespoon fresh
• 1 generous teaspoon of parsley (or 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt. Keep some handy to add to your taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Keep some of this handy to taste as well
• 1 Tablespoon cream for serving (optional)

In a large pot (a 2-quart saucepan is probably doable, but it will be pretty tight. I used my largest pot), cook the bacon on low-to-medium-low heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and do with as you will. Eat it. Save it for tomorrow's eggs. Put it on a salad. I put mine in the tuna salad. 

Melt the butter in the pan on medium-low heat and stir in your onions. Cook until they are translucent, then stir in your herbs. When the herbs are evenly distributed, add your tomatoes, including the juice in the cans. Stir well. Slowly add the broth, and then bring to a low boil.

I originally simmered, partially covered, for about twenty minutes and then used my stick blender on the low setting to give it a slightly rough texture. Feel free to go all the way to velvety. I happen to like my tomato soup with small chunks in it.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle cream on top if desired. 

Twenty minutes of simmering wasn't enough, I determined later. It was merely okay. For my next serving the following day, I simmered for an hour with the lid off. The difference was amazing. 

I ran out of tuna (this melt had Gruyere on it and was eaten on top of a crumpet) before I ran out of soup, so to add some protein to the third meal, I chopped up some Jarlsberg to add while I ate. Provolone also works here.

For my next time, I think I'll add a bit of garlic and maybe some lemon zest, possibly some additional herbs. More research is needed.

How do you like your tomato soup?