TGIF….yep, it is Friday and a day when most…well, some people go out to dinner to celebrate the end of the work week….but then many go more for that laid back easy meal such as take-out or pizza delivery. OR, if you are like the Captain and I…we like to hang out at home especially if it has been a busy week. Tonight, it is hamburgers on the grill, baked beans and garden fresh tomatoes. Yummy!
But let me tell you about lunch! A few weeks ago, I came across a recipe stashed in my files for tomato soup. It was a recipe that I got when on a visit to Chicago a few years ago. We went to this little Clandestino Brazilian Restaurant on the corner of a very busy street for lunch….and were lucky to find a small table open near the window.
The menu was like reading a book….not that there were too many items…it was the descriptions that made my mouth water.
I chose the tomato soup…eating light…..and a delicious empanada!
Luckily, I got the recipe for the soup from a friend of a friend of a friend….you get the picture and so I tried making the soup soon after arriving home. It tasted wonderful, altho just not quite the same and I have a very good idea of why I stuffed the recipe into the back of my file. You see, I left off an ingredient when making the soup. I mean, I just couldn’t make myself add it to the beautiful soup!
What ingredient would that be you say?
Was it the addition of the coconut milk?
No
Perhaps it was the white wine?
Nah!
How about the sweet flaky coconut garnish on top of the soup?
Nada!
Well, what ingredient made you push the recipe out of sight and out of mind for the last few years?
Are you ready for this my friends?
Fish sauce!
Yep, fish sauce in tomato soup.
Until last week……
I sucked it up…took a deep breath and grabbed the bottle of newly purchased fish sauce and added 1 teaspoon of it to my soup.
And then it happened…..triumphant music entered the atmosphere all around Cape Coral, penetrating my kitchen with music to my ears …blinking lights shown round about me…and centered on the pot of soup simmering on my stove top.
And I tasted the soup!
My friends….could we have a moment of silence for this Tomato Soup from a Brazilian cook who flavors the tomato soup with coconut milk and onions and garlic and…and…fish sauce.
(Pause please)
Thank you!
The squeeze of lime juice before serving was the final jubilation!
It just doesn’t get any better than this!
Take the leap of faith my friends….and try this home made tomato soup!
Campbell Soup it ain’t!
Have a great week-end!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 white onion, minced
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 28 oz cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- 1½ cups coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- flaky coconut
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven
- Saute' the garlic and onion in the oil until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the wine and reduce the liquid by two-thirds.
- Add the tomato, coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and salt Stir to combine and simmer on low for 45 minutes.
- Add the lime juice, and puree in a blender until smooth, being careful with the hot liquid.
- Serve with flaky coconut for garnish
Hi Kari, I had to laugh. Are we all so very set in our ways that it takes such a leap of faith to try something new? However, I only purchased my first bottle of fish sauce this year, to try a Thai noodle salad dressing recipe, but adding it to Tomato soup I’d have said no way …. unless recommended by a trusted friend.
Incidentally do you use Worcester sauce in any of your recipes? It is the “kick” of a Bloody Mary cocktail drink. However, the main ingredient of Worcester sauce is fermented anchovies… So perhaps the fish sauce in the tomato soup isn’t as strange after all.
Hugs from across the pond…
I do add Worcestershire sauce to a lot of things such as meat loaf, as well as to meat marinades and you are absolutely right about the anchovies being in the mix. Actually. I didn’t know until a few years ago that the anchovies were there until I read the ingredients on the bottle. In my mind I dismissed their inclusion because they were way down the list of ingredients! Isn’t it funny how we can justify some things? hahaha!
Thanks my friend for stopping by…hugs
I’m sorry, Kari, the fish stuff turned me off. I’ll have to take your word that it’s fantastic. lol
I have to agree with you Sandy which is why I omitted it from my original tomato soup. You and I are a lot alike. thanks for stopping by.