Who doesn’t love Tomato Soup? I know I am not that person. Campbells had a lot of my memories growing up. With sitting in my room watching Barney and friends and other cartoons because I was a derpy kid. I know, it’s not on air anymore and I am old. Still, I loved that soup, and I made something else that I can love. Guilt free, and tasty. 🙂 Let me go over some basics for you! A little more “grown up” but still comforting.
What makes this recipe great?
- Well, I start with some ground work for flavor: Namely, Bacon, shallots, garlic, and Basil.
Some of those are pretty carby, right? Can you explain this.
Yes, I can explain. I live a “dirty” keto lifestyle. I consider things low carb even if they have some carbs. I will try and keep everything under 10 a serving, but honestly… carbs are not EVIL. They are just something that is a road block to ketosis and inflammatory for some people (like me). When a whole recipe has some carby things, individual servings tend to be lower.
What makes it special and why the steps are worth it.
- Bacon! Yes, Bacon. I start this out rendering out the fat from bacon. It adds a little rich, deep flavor that is slightly smoky. It helps so much.
- Butter: I mean honestly, it is creamy, rich and adds to the depth with the bacon
- Shallots: I use 50g of shallots in this. (One small shallot) It has so much deep flavor and considering we cant just add a whole onion this helps SO MUCH.
- Garlic: If you tell me you dislike garlic I think you are insane.
- Beef Gelatin: I wanted to thicken it a little and this was the perfect mild thickening. No starches, no xanthum gum texture… You do not taste it, I promise
OK, I’ll bite. Let’s check it out.
What you will need:
- 3 strips of bacon, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 small shallot
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups of chicken or beef stock separated 3 cups / 1cup
- 1 tablespoon Beef Gelatin
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons of dried basil (Fresh preferable, not mandatory. about 6-8 big leaves)
- 3/4 cup almond milk unsweetened (Or your favorite nut milk. Cashew may be tasty here, honesty)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (or less, your desired creaminess)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Garnishes. I like sour cream, fresh basil, cheese whisps, low carb crackers or grilled cheese (There are good bread options incoming. Gasp. Coming soon)
Equipment:
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Big Pot with a lid
- Measuring Cups
- Can Opener
- Immersion blender or real blender.
- Plate for bacon
- Stirring Spoon
- Ladle
- Serving bowls
Directions:
- First: Bloom your gelatin in 1 cup of stock. I used Chicken, beef works too.
- Second: Peel and Cut your shallots and garlic. I recommend a fine dice. There are plenty of places for tips on this. You will likely cry because shallots are devil spawn for cutting. Food processor works too but why dirty a dish man?
- Add your bacon to the bottom of your cool pot, lining the bottom. Turn onto medium heat and render the fat from that delicious meat.
- Once both sides are the level of crispy you want, take out and set on plate to use for garnish later if you want, or snack while you cook.
- Add the butter, shallots, garlic. crushed red pepper and tomato paste
- Once that is “fragrant” and has started to caramelize, add the remaining 3 cups of stock and your bay leaves and herbs.
- Open your big can of tomatoes and pour it in.
- Simmer like this, covered, for 20 minutes on medium low heat
- Check saltiness. I recommend the salt here so you can check if reducing made it salty enough. Add more and some pepper to taste
- Add your bloomed gelatin and stir in well. Simmer for 10 more minutes on low.
- After the 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves add the almond milk and basil. Turn off heat.
- Let stand for 5 minutes
- OPTIONALLY: then immersion blend. Or transfer to stand blender in one ladle increments carefully. Honestly, if you don’t care about small bits of shallot skip this step.
- Add cream to desired creaminess I found 1/4 cup worked for me, some people like it more rich.
- Turn heat on low and keep below a simmer for a few minutes, test for seasoning.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish and enjoy. Don’t knock the bacon until you try it man.
This makes between 6 to 8 servings.
The macros for this will vary depending on the size of your bowl. I got 8 servings, some people need more. I wanted to include both. Again these are according to my fitness pal. There could be slight variation, always check yourself as well. ❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )
For 8 servings: You will have macros of 10.2g of fat, 6.5 g protein, 9.8 total carbs and 2.1 fiber making it 7.7 Carbs. This has 159 Calories.
For 6 servings it will be 13.7 grams of fat, 8.6 grams of protein, 13.1 total carbs and 2.8 fiber so a total of 10.3. This has 212 calories.
Some pictures of the process for those visual learners.
