Since it’s the third Saturday of the month, it’s time to enjoy the soup event organized by Wendy. This month yours truly is hosting, and I chose as my theme a farewell to the season that tortures me: Winter. My apologies to those who like to shiver, who enjoy having to cover their feet, hands, ears and nose before heading outside, and don’t mind a heating bill in the triple digits at the end of the month.
We still have a few evenings here and there with ungodly cold temperatures, and for those evenings, a soup that warms body and soul is the best thing in the world. So I made it smokin’ hot. Literally. Remember my new toy from last Christmas, the electric smoker? We’ve been using it a lot, I just did not have a chance to blog about it yet, but now it’s the perfect opportunity. I made a smoked tomato soup. Very simple in terms of number of ingredients, but incredibly flavorful due to the subtle applewood smoke component.
SMOKED TOMATO SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)
10 large Roma tomatoes, halved
olive oil spray
salt and pepper
applewood chips for smoker
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 shallot, minced
zest and juice of one blood orange
1 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Turn your smoker to 250 F and place a few applewood chips in the chamber, according to the instructions of your smoker.
Drizzle the tomatoes with a little spray of olive oil, and season lightly with salt. When the smoker reaches the right temperature, place the tomatoes, cut side down, on the tray. Close the chamber and allow them to smoke for 40 minutes. At the end of the smoking time, remove the skin, that should peel off easily.
In a large saucepan, saute the shallot and yellow bell pepper in olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper. When soft and fragrant, add the zest of the blood orange add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a potato masher. Simmer in medium heat for 5 minutes, add the chicken stock, cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a blender, blend until smooth. If you like a very smooth soup, pass through a sieve to remove the tomato seeds. If too thick, add some chicken stock or water. Pour back into the pan, add blood orange juice, heavy cream, simmer a few minutes, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with a drizzle of blood orange juice on top.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Talk about flavor! What we’ve learned so far from our adventures with the smoker is that you don’t need that many added spices, in fact, it is best to mellow down the spices, so that the smokiness can shine. Even when tomatoes are far from their peak, the brief encounter with the smoke intensifies their flavor quite a bit. Very nice. If you don’t have a smoker, I suppose grilling the tomatoes could do a good job too. In that case, add some smoked paprika to the soup, while you are sauteing the veggies. If blood oranges are not available where you live (here, let me offer you a hug), you can use regular oranges, and decorate the soup with a drizzle or cream or yogurt.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to be saying goodbye to winter! If you’d like to see what my virtual friends made for our Soup Saturday event, click on the link at the end of the post. Stay warm!
ONE YEAR AGO: Manchego and Poblano Soup
TWO YEARS AGO: A Smashing Pair
THREE YEARS AGO: Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
FOUR YEARS AGO: Crispy Chickpea and Caper Spaghetti
FIVE YEARS AGO: Spring has Sprung!
SIX YEARS AGO: Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
SEVEN YEARS AGO: Double Asparagus Delight
EIGHT YEARS AGO: Sun-dried Tomato and Feta Cheese Torte
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Bewitching Kitchen 
Soup sounds lovely. DefinTely can convert into vegetarian option.
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no doubt – use veggie stock or water, no problem at all
in fact, I often think that water gives soups a very “clean” feel – sometimes the addition of chicken stock is not truly necessary
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*laughter* Wish our winter would start arriving ! 102 F supposedly tomorrow with gales over 60 miles and the biggest fears of bushfires for the whole season!! But back to soup – you must have very juicy tomatoes to only need one cup of stock to complete! No smoker but must try!!!
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I ended up having to add a bit more liquid in the end, actually – but I don’t mind simmering it all while a bit on the thick side, and then dilute if needed. I did have a pretty humongous blood orange, and that added also some more liquid
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Perfect timing! We’re about to head out into the freezing cold, again!!
Your soup sounds so good and would be perfect to come home to 😉 x
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you can definitely use the barbecue.. I think you would love this soup
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Me too!
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I wish we ever had winter here but we don’t for maybe more than a couple of days in the tropics. I was actually planning on using the smoker we bought this weekend on some fish the Mr caught at the Reef. It’s been used about twice in 3 years so time to bring it out. I’m a soup addict so don’t care what time of year it is. I have it most days at work for lunch so thank you. I’ll be popping some tomatoes in there to make this as well.
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I heard that mushrooms are AMAZING smoked – I have that on my list…
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Sigh….now I want a new kitchen gadget…thanks for hosting this month Sally.
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so many gadgets, so little time… space etc etc 😉
but they are usually a ton of fun!
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Omg sally, this sounds amazing! I have dried tomatoes, and roasted them, but never smoked them. What a brilliant idea! I should do that for salsa as well! Thanks, and happy st. Patrick’s day!
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oh, yeah, I thought about saving some for salsa, but got lazy – definitely do it, it’s amazing how smoking is a game changer!
we are having smoked salmon regularly now, and it’s UNREAL how good it gets…
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That’s my favorite thing to do. But even smoked chicken is wonderful. I think I’ve only used it with pasta.
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There is nothing more soothing than tomato soup! You took this to the next level by smoking the tomatoes….sounds super!
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we were quite pleased with it! Smoked mushroom soup will be next…
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This soup is gorgeous! Love the color. So jealous of your smoker! Thanks for the great theme this month.
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having a blast with the smoker…. we had one failure only, with chicken wings, but just because we did not cook them long enough – it’s a learning curve, kind of… but fun!
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Glorious looking soup and the smoky flavour sounds like it takes it to a higher lever of amazing. Enjoy.
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I am so glad I decided to make it, it was a bit of an impulse, but worked well…
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Thank smokiness is calling my name. I’m wondering if it will take the place of grilled bread. That is what I take away is the smokiness. I’m.
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I think grilled bread would be perfect with it too… it was truly a very delicious soup, tomatoes go well with a bit of smoke… surprisingly so
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Ooooh! This sounds so good, Sally. I love tomato soup and adding smoke flavor sounds wonderful! I do question you’re calling an end to winter. Around here, such talk usually summons another snowstorm. Just today, while doing a little yard work, i considered draining the snow blower’s gas tank. I’ll wait another month. The snow gods may be watching.
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you never know when that last snowstorm might hit you….. (fingers firmly crossed, I think for us winter is over…)
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Now I totally want to smoke some tomatoes!!!
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isn’t that something? so glad I made this soup, opens up a bunch of new horizons…
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Beautiful smoked tomato soup, sounds delicious!
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thank you! glad you liked the idea!
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