ROASTED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP

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Quick tomato soups have always been one of my favorite comfort foods, and this time I upped the game with a jar of roasted red peppers and a butter-and-flour roux to give the soup extra body and richness. I love the simplicity of this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup and the fact that the only things I actually had to buy were the roasted red peppers and tomatoes. (#win) Okay, I also bought a loaf of crusty French bread, because all good soup deserves crusty French bread. When you have a good crusty bread to dip into a rich soup, life is good.
I finished off this soup with a cup of whole milk for a little extra creaminess, but honestly, I tasted it before the milk and it was still a really bangin’ soup. So, before you ask if you can sub almond milk or soy milk, I think your best option, if trying to avoid dairy milk, is to just leave the milk out. But don’t skip the butter because the butter actually makes a huge difference here. If you must use olive oil in place of butter, just know that you’re missing out on some serious luxury. But I get it, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
I took a unique turn with the preparation of this soup and decided to blend the ingredients before heating them. I don’t have an immersion blender and I’ve had a serious mishap with blending hot liquids before, so I try to avoid it whenever possible. If you have an immersion blender, ignore my food processor/blender step and just do it all in one pot!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp butter $0.22
• 1 yellow onion $0.40
• 4 cloves garlic $0.24
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour $0.02
• 2 15oz. cans crushed tomatoes $1.38
• 12oz. jar roasted red peppers $2.49
• 2 cups vegetable broth* $0.26
• ¼ tsp dried basil $0.03
• ⅛ tsp dried thyme $0.02
• Freshly cracked Pepper $0.05
• 1 cup whole milk (optional) $0.30

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and butter to a large soup pot. Sauté over a medium flame until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the flour to the pot and continue to stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. The flour will form a paste with the butter and onions and begin to coat the bottom of the pot. As soon as the flour that is stuck to the pot begins to turn slightly golden, remove it from the heat.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes (with juices), roasted red peppers (without juices) and the flour paste from the soup pot to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, then return the contents to the soup pot.
4. Add the vegetable broth, basil, thyme, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill) to the soup and stir to combine. Heat and stir over a medium flame until the soup begins to simmer. Use the spoon to help dissolve any flour stuck to the bottom of the pot as you stir.
5. Once the soup begins to simmer, turn off the heat. Add the milk, if using, and stir to combine. Taste and add salt if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth).

source>>budgetbytes.com/tomato-soup