*Photo Updated December 2012*

Inspiration: Tomato soup is really a go-to soup for me, because it’s so easy to make and so versatile. I always stick with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and stock, and from there I throw anything that I happen to have on hand into the pot. Any leftover herbs or vegetables; a cup or two of cream or milk that has no use; whatever spices, sauces, or salsas that are sitting around. Some of my creations end up great, and some of them end up not so great, but it’s always fun to mix up the flavor combinations and see what happens. Every once in a while, though, I’ll buy the ingredients for this specific soup. When I first started developing a real love for cooking, this is one of the first recipes that I remember falling in love with, and it was one of my earliest blog posts. All of these years later, it’s still one of my favorite soups – which I think makes it deserving of a shiny new post.

What We Loved: I love this soup so much because it’s so unique. It’s a cross between a creamy white bean soup and a standard tomato soup, and the resulting flavor is very rich and complex. There are a lot of Italian notes from the rosemary and tomato (almost making me want to liken this aspect of the soup to a marinara), and the second level of earthy, buttery white bean flavors competes so well with the tomato flavors. Really, this is like two soups in one. The inclusion of protein in the form of white beans also makes this soup much thicker and more filling than a standard tomato soup, which is another bonus. A thermos of this soup works really great as a work week lunch.

Tips: Giada’s original recipe calls for the soup to be topped with creme fraiche and lemon, but sadly, I haven’t tried this yet for one reason or another. It really sounds great, though, so I would suggest giving it a go if you have the ingredients on hand.

Rosemary Tomato Soup
Source: Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

I made some minor changes to the ingredient list and doubled the recipe so that the soup can last all week for work lunches. Here’s my version:

Butter
2 small onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 15-ounce cans navy or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable, to keep the dish vegetarian)
2 bay leaves
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary, minced, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and black pepper

1. In a large pot, add the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more.

2. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, covered.

3. Remove the bay leaves. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or a food processor.

4. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.

5. Serve the soup with minced rosemary on top.