We had so much rain over the past three weeks that I couldn’t stand my ugly looking tomato plants and picked what was left. Some of the tomatoes were still green which I hung (the whole plant) in the garage to ripen. The ones those were ripened went into the pot for soup. No stock is used in this soup. The liquid comes only from the tomatoes which makes the flavor so much better. You can add broth if you want a thinner soup, I’ve made mine without. It is fresh, untainted and out of this world! With grape tomatoes in it, the soup takes on a bright flavor with little bit of sweetness that I find very different from traditional tomato soup.
The first time I published this recipe was back in October of 2011. Since then I have made it many times and it has been a fall favorite in our household. I thought that it would be nice to revisit the recipe, take new photos of the dish and repost it.
This tomato soup gives you a thicker mouthfeel without any milk or cream. Thanks to lentils. They break down during cooking and when blended create an unbelievably velvety texture. It often reminds me of the tomato bisque I had at Disney Cruise in 2011! The soup is low calorie, diet friendly and really filling. I’m sure your entire family loves this recipe as much as we do. Serve small bowls as a starter, or ladle up bigger servings with crusty bread. But I personally like it with naturally gluten-free (quesava’s) cheese poppers for an easy supper.
If you make this dish, I’d love to see. Snap a photo and tag it on Instagram #simpleglutenfreekitchen or +Balvinder Ubi on Google+
A beautiful, creamy, fresh, tangy and spicy tomato soup to warm up your bones on a rainy day.
Ingredients
- 3lb tomatoes (mix of large yellow, orange and grape tomatoes)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 cup dried red or yellow lentils
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 25 - 30 Fresh Basil leaves
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup (+ _) water
Instructions
- Soak lentils in hot water for 1 hour. ( In this soup I used 1/2 a cup of leftover boiled yellow mung beans from Aloo tikki).
- Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat.
- Add carrots, garlic, onion, and celery.
- Season with salt.
- Cook with lid on for 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened.
- Add tomatoes, soaked (or boiled if you have) lentils, red chili powder and 3/4 cup of water (you don't need much if using grape tomatoes they generate a lot of liquid) .
- Give it a good stir and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for about15 minutes with the lid on or until the lentils are tender.
- Take the soup off the heat stir in basil leaves.
- Puree soup with a heavy duty blender or in the pot using a hand blender until smooth. (When I need to blend a soup to a smooth consistency I often use Vitamix. If you are using a hand blender you might pour it through a sieve to get any seeds out).
- Adjust for seasoning and thickness.Serve warm with a crack of black pepper and fresh basil leaves.
Deeksha
wow! sounds healthy n tasty. Nice color as well.
Kalpana Sareesh
wow too good..
Ruth
That looks delicious – simple and good! Yum!
Malti
Your Bisque has a beautiful color, so tempting. It is perfect for Halloween night.
Sonia
This is looking awesome Neetu and am sure ur daughter loved ur tweaked version. Thanks for the lovely words at my space. Cheers, sonia !
Ann
Delicious! I LOVE tomato bisque….one of my favorites! The one thing I tried on the cruise and fell in love with was their cold fruit soups….SO good!
foodie @ tasting spot
i like your pictures and would like to invite you to share them on tastingspot.com
Angie@Angie's Recipes
The prettiest tomato soup I have ever seen! Love the creaminess and the colour!
David @ Spiced
I love the concept behind this soup, Balvinder! We have a summer soup that we make that uses zucchini as the liquid…and this sounds mighty similar. Plus, the lentils as a thickener sound amazing. I’m going to have to keep this one in mind for next summer when we have a ton of garden tomatoes! 🙂
Vanitha
Tomato soup is welcome any time and if the tomatoes are home grown; all the better! Lentils added is a brilliant and healthy way to up the protein content in soups! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday 🙂
Jo / Jo's Kitchen Larder
Fantastic looking soup! I love tomato soup and make it a lot although must admit I have never made it using fresh tomatoes and no stock at all. One to try. #cookblogshare
Blackswan
Oh wow! Love those colours, dear! xoxo
Easyfoodsmith
That is a beautiful hearty soup with so much goodness.
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery
What a gorgeous colour! Love the idea of using lentils to thicken it too!
Jacqui Bellefontaine
That looks a delicious soup. I love the colour the yellow tomatoes have made it. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
This sounds so warming and comforting – perfect for this time of year!