Warming After A Sleigh Ride

 My all time favorite version of this holiday classic

And what would be better after a sleigh ride through the snow than a nice hot bowl of soup?

I was cleaning out my kitchen pantry the other day when I realized I had about 5 cans of tomato paste nearing or a bit past their expiration date. I am not generally concerned with the dates on cans but I do know acidic foods are best used sooner rather than later, I was fine using one for chili and another for spaghetti sauce, but I still wanted to use the others for something else. When I googled uses for tomato paste I kept coming to a recipe for tomato soup which they (whoever "they" are) swore tasted very close to the "umm, ummm, good" brand .  The recipe is all over the internet so I am not sharing a particular site. It seems that now I am joining the hoard of folks who have posted this but, in my case, this is nowhere near an original recipe. It is just one I tried and am passing on along with changes I made/will make in the future.

1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste

24 ounces milk or water (4 tomato cans full to keep  clean-up to a minimum)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Mix everything in a pot, stir well, bring to temperature (I let mine reach a gentle boil)  then it is supposedly ready to eat.

optional suggested add ins:

garlic powder

onion powder

cheese

bacon 

celery seed

My thoughts:

I made it using the original recipe, but used half water, half unsweetened almond milk. I think I am glad I did use the almond milk because the acid did not cause it to curdle. It might not have curdled anyway, but we do not keep milk in the fridge, so it was a moot point. I also left out the salt, knowing I could add it from the shaker at the table, because I am not a big salt fan.

Before I put it in the bowl I tasted it and thought it tasted nothing like Campbells so I put on my mad scientist thinking cap and started adding to it.

First I added a rounded teaspoon of Better than Bouillon vegetable base, stirred it well then tasted. It helped but was still not right. (Really glad at this point I had not added the salt) 

Next a few pinches of onion powder were added__much better taste. I still found it was a little too thin and thought about adding a smidgen of xanthan gum, but did not because it can cause a slight slimy texture and I did not want slimy soup. 

I finally added about 1/2 tablespoon of butter. It gave the soup a much smoother consistency.

Now it felt like Campbells but the taste was still different. 

Next time I make it I might try using chicken broth rather than water. I always have pint bags of it in the freezer anyway. I also think a bit of celery salt and some dried parsley would add to the flavor. 

Who knows I might even use basil for a totally different flavor profile.

It was definitely worth trying and was tasty, just different than what I was hoping for.

It was perfectly good soup, but not a clone. I will make it again with different expectations.

p.s. Truth in advertising and all of that, I have never been on a sleigh ride and will never be able to experience one here. I have ridden in a cart pulled by a mule__not the same thing.