A Grown Up Take on a Childhood Favorite
Hands down, my favorite new cookbook is ‘Sunday Soup’. The book features artfully staged pictures, as well as a chapter devoted to ‘souper sides’: creative pairings for each soup. The recipes are divided according to season. Even though we’re currently in the dead of winter, the winter recipes are creative and enticing, which isn’t always the case with other seasonal cookbooks.
Since I’ve been on such a soup kick lately, we’ve already enjoyed three of the Winter soups so far. Last night I made Tomato, Dill, and White Cheddar Soup. The result was something akin to my favorite childhood meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup, only with dill and cayenne pepper updating the flavor profile. The four cans of diced tomatoes simmered with the leeks, dill, and cayenne for nearly half an hour, before I pureed everything and added sour cream and a generous helping of cheddar cheese.
Total hands-on time for the recipe was about 15 minutes and resulted in a vat of soup that could serve at least 6. I now have 4 more servings sitting in the fridge, perfect for when I need an afternoon pick-me-up!
Tomato, Dill, and White Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
- 4 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
- 6 tablespoons (packed) chopped fresh dill or 2 tablespoons dried dillweed
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 4 ounces chilled sharp white cheddar cheese, sliced
- Fresh dill sprigs
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, broth, chopped dill and cayenne and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until tomatoes are very soft and flavors blend, about 20 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in processor until smooth. Return to same pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Bring to simmer over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in sour cream (do not boil).
Ladle soup into bowls. Arrange cheese atop each. Garnish with dill sprigs.
