Chow Down on Chowder

Nothing looks nicer or smells better than a basket of fresh, local tomatoes. I can’t seem to make it down the produce aisle of the grocery store or through the farmer’s market without stopping to pick up a few (dozen) heirloom, field, roma, grape, cherry tomatoes…they’re all delicious. Fortunately, everyone in our family loves tomatoes and we go through a large number of them—sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes or served on a veggie platter as a snack.
This week, I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, so I pulled out a recipe I had been given to by one of my colleagues at Savvy HQ. (Yes, we really do swap recipes in our office—we’re moms after all.) The chowder reference comes from the chunks of potato and celery, but you can make this soup as thin or chunky as you wish. It doesn’t look very pretty in the pot, but the smell and the taste make up for it. All three kids loved the yummy flavour and asked for a second helping. That’s a pretty good endorsement. Guess what I am packing for lunches tomorrow?

Chunky Tomato Chowder

Recipe courtesy of Leslie McCormick

You’ll Need

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 3 cups diced tomatoes (approx 3-4 tomatoes)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 2½ cups water or stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups potatoes, chopped

For white sauce:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• ¼ tsp dry mustard
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tsp salt

2 cups milk

• 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Prep and Cook

1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and celery, stirring frequently, until tender (about 10 minutes).
3. Stir in tomatoes, salt, oregano, pepper, water, bay leaf and potatoes and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and continue cooking until potatoes are cooked, about 30 minutes.
5. Using a hand blender in the pot or in a food processor, puree soup until smooth (or desired consistency) and return to the soup pot.
6. Create a white sauce with the ingredients above. Whisk sauce until thickened (without the cheese).

Once thickened, add cheese.

7. Mix cheese sauce into the tomato base and simmer for 15 minutes (do not boil).
8. Serve soup for lunch or dinner with whole wheat dinner rolls.

What is your family’s favourite soup recipe?