How to Make Tomato Soup

Grab a yellow onion and give it a rough chop - you want about one and a little extra. Tomato soup needs depth of flavor, and that starts with plenty of onion. Then peel six cloves of garlic (or more, if you love it), smash each one with the flat of your knife to release the oils and skin, and mince them up.

Keep the onion and garlic separate. They go into the pot at different times because garlic burns way before onion finishes cooking.

Set a Dutch oven or other big pot over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of butter and three tablespoons of olive oil. Wait until the butter is fully melted and starts to smell warm and nutty before you add anything else.

The combo of butter and oil matters. Butter gives you richness and that browned-butter flavor. The olive oil raises the smoke point so the onions can cook gently for eight full minutes without scorching.

Tip the chopped onion into the melted butter and oil and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat for about eight minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the onion soft and translucent, not browned.

That slow cook breaks down the natural sugars in the onion and builds the sweet, savory base the whole soup leans on. If you rush this part with high heat, you'll get bitter, scorched bits that you can't undo later. Low and slow.

Once the onion is softened, add the minced garlic and stir constantly. Garlic burns fast - way faster than onion - and burnt garlic will make your whole pot bitter.

Keep the heat at medium and stir for about five minutes, until the kitchen smells amazing and the garlic is aromatic but still pale. If it starts to color, pull the pot off the heat for a minute and let it coast.

Carefully tip in two cans of whole peeled tomatoes, juice and all - don't waste a drop of that liquid. Stir to combine, then pour in three cups of stock. Veggie, chicken, or plain water all work - the recipe is forgiving here.

Add a tablespoon of sugar to balance the acid in the tomatoes, a generous pinch of kosher salt, and at least a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. Salt early so it works its way through the whole pot, not just the surface.

Bring the pot to a boil, then drop the heat to a gentle simmer. Add a pinch of dried thyme and a little oregano, or whatever herbs you love. Let it cook uncovered for about half an hour.

The liquid reduces, the tomatoes break down, and every flavor in the pot melds together. Give it a stir every few minutes. Simmer means lazy bubbles around the edge of the pot, not a rolling boil - if the surface is bubbling all over, the heat is too high.

Once the soup has reduced, grab an immersion blender and pulse it through the pot until you get a silky, smooth texture. A few short bursts is all you need.

Do not overblend. If you whip the soup too hard, or move it to a high-speed countertop blender, some olive oils turn shockingly bitter. It's a real chemical thing - the polyphenols in the oil break down under high-shear blending. Stick with short pulses on a stick blender, and stop the second the soup looks smooth.

Pour in a splash of heavy cream - about a half cup - and stir it through. The cream rounds out the acid from the tomatoes and adds that velvety mouthfeel restaurant soups have. Taste and add more salt or pepper if you need it.

Ladle into bowls. Tear some fresh basil over the top, add a crack of black pepper, and serve with crusty bread, homemade croutons, or grilled cheese. Grilled cheese on the side is the move.