Receta Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup
Look at what I got in the mail:
A six pack!
Of tomatoes!
Red Gold Tomatoes sent me such a cute little sampler of
their tomato products to try that I wasn’t quite sure what to make with them first, but a
quick glance out the window helped me to decide.
Soup! It’s downright wintery out there! Unbeknownst to the Red Gold peeps, I actually
had a can of their tasty tomatoes in my cupboard, so I’m saving the sampler
pack for some other quick tomato meals. Stay tuned for those. In the mean time,
let’s cook some soup.
I am not a fan of most canned soup, I’ll have you know.
Frankly, I’m not quite sure of what’s in it. Usually, there’s too much salt.
Sometimes, there’s stuff like corn syrup and fillers. And if your argument to
me is that canned soup is convenient, then I will counter that with the fact
that making your own soup is almost as easy.
Check it out—I did this on the fly, with some things I had in the
cupboard (and the freezer).
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- ½ large, sweet onion, chopped
- 2 cups frozen corn (fire-roasted, if available)
- 1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
- 1 (15-19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high
- heat. Lower the heat to medium and add
- the garlic, onions and corn. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 5
- minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans vegetable stock, chili powder and Italian
seasoning. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer
soup for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve the
soup hot; garnish with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese, if desired.
I chose to use some fire-roasted frozen corn that I had in the freezer. It added just a hint of smokey flavor.
Canned tomatoes make easy work out of soup—of this I am a
great fan. Good, fresh tomatoes are hard to find this time of year (not to
mention, pricey), so canned tomatoes are a must. The thing is, they work in so
many things. Besides soup, you can sub canned tomatoes for fresh in spaghetti
sauce, on pizzas, and in casseroles. My mother-in-law likes to take a can of stewed
tomatoes and use them as gravy over mashed potatoes.
So why Red Gold brand tomatoes? It really wasn't a fluke that that was the brand in my cupboard. The Red Gold company is a third generation family owned company out of Indiana. They started in 1942 and all they do are tomatoes. They know their stuff! Red Gold is located right in the middle of tomato country and I've found all of their tomato products to be of stellar quality. But, I digress. Let's get back to my soup.
This was tasty just the way it was, but I felt it needed just a little something.
How about using all of those crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag? It's a shame to waste them, even if they aren't so good at scooping anymore.
Now, just add some shredded cheese and you are good to go.
See? Wasn't that easy? And now that all of my soup is gone, I've got some ideas for the rest of those cans. Next up on the menu: Cincinnati Chili Pizza.
Is there something special you make with canned tomatoes?
Disclaimer: I received free product from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to do this review. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.