Tomato-gin soup

13

PREP TIME

20 min

Makes

8 cups (2 L), for 6 servings

* PLUS Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 small or 1/2 large red onion
  • 5 large plum tomatoes , or 4 medium tomatoes
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard , optional
  • 3/4 cup gin
  • 2 284-mL cans tomato soup
  • 1 to 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Place bacon in a medium-size saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until bacon is crispy, about 8 minutes. If bacon browns too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low. Meanwhile, finely chop onion. Remove cores from tomatoes, then coarsely chop.
  • When bacon is cooked, remove from pan and place on a paper towel. Drain and discard all but 2 teaspoons (10 mL) fat from pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, then add onion. Stir often until slightly soft, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes along with any juice to pan. Stir in mustard, if using. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up and stir in any brown bits from pan bottom to add flavour. Stir often until tomatoes begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, crumble or slice bacon and set aside.
  • Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in gin. Cook, stirring often, 2 minutes. Then stir in undiluted soup and 2 soup cans water to dilute it. Stir often until blended and hot, about 3 minutes. Stir in bacon, 1 tablespoon (15 mL) Worcestershire and pepper. Taste, then add remaining Worcestershire, if needed. Serve right away or refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.

Nutrition (per serving)

  • Calories
  • 174,
  • Protein
  • 4.3 g,
  • Carbohydrates
  • 19.4 g,
  • Fat
  • 4.7 g,
  • Sodium
  • 665 mg.

We first tasted this amazing soup at Katherine Webster’s Toronto home. The recipe is from her father-in-law, Bill Webster, who makes the soup for parties.

Marvelous mushrooms

This recipe also tastes great with sauteed mushrooms. Finely chop 1/2 pound (250 g) button mushrooms, then add to pan along with onion. Continue with recipe as written above.

Soup plus

Use double-smoked bacon for extra smoky aroma. Boost the flavour with a sprinkle of fresh chopped basil, coriander or dill. Top soup with garlicky croutons or toasted baguette slices sprinkled with Parmesan cheese or spread with garlic butter and sprinkle with parsley.

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