I had a request – “Mom, can you make tomato soup?” Okay – and so anyone who knows me, knows that I am not going to buy canned tomato soup because of the high sodium content. So, I bought a box of pomodoro tomatoes, without added salt. And I am definitely going to be buying more of them. I have been using them in pasta (simple pasta with sauteed garlic, tomato and basil), risotto and now soup. It was so easy to make – and so delicious. We saved seconds for tonight’s dinner.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I buy it crushed in a tube in the produce section of the store)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 box diced pomodoro tomatoes (about 2 cups – see the picture below), no added salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh chopped Italian Herbs or Basil (I buy that in a tube in the produce section too – very economical and always ready to use – see in the picture)
2 bay leaves
dash granulated garlic
black pepper to taste

Saute the garlic, onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil in a Dutch oven pan over medium heat until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce heat to simmer and simmer until the veggies are tender over low heat, about 15 minutes. Puree with hand held blender or in blender or food processor – taking care that the soup is hot and you don’t want to splash it on you.

Serve hot in a bowl – we sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese.

Our salad had a fun mix of fresh veggies – celery, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, grated carrot, dried cherries and toasted almonds. We topped with balsamic vinegar. And we served soup, salad and open faced tuna sandwiches for dinner. All in all I spent about 20 minutes in the kitchen from start to finish – fast, delicious and healthy – and low in fat and calories, too.

Enjoy