Rainy, cold nights call for hot soup with a hearty side. This soup and bread can be made at the same time, in about 1 hour. Minimal ingredients and prep, but a massive addition to your dinner time routine. Prepare the bread first, and then make the soup while it is baking.
For the bread:
3 cups of of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
1 12-ounce bottle of hard cider (I like the Woodpecker brand)
1/2 cup of butter
1. Melt the butter in a small pan on the stove. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Mix in the hard cider and maple syrup until the dough comes together. It should be sticky and clumpy looking.
5. Pour half of the butter into the loaf pan. Then add the bread batter. The batter will seem small in the large loaf pan, but don’t worry, it will rise and spread as it bakes. Add the rest of the butter on top of the batter, and use a pastry brush to evenly coat it.
6. Place in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until the top is golden brown.
For the soup:
2 28 ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 small onion
2 tablespoons of butter
4 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup of heavy cream
kosher salt / pepper
1. Roughly chop up the onion and place it in a pot with the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the two cans of tomatoes and the chicken stock. Using a wooden spoon, break up the large pieces of tomatoes.
3. Add three tablespoons of kosher salt, and bring to a boil.
4. Turn down heat and allow soup to simmer for 30 minutes. At this point you can taste the broth to see if you need more salt.
5. Turn off the heat, and use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Once smooth, add the heavy cream and blend again. You can also do this in a food processor if you do not have an immersion blender handy.
6. Season soup again with salt and pepper to your desired taste and serve.
I like to serve the soup and beer bread with a simple salad of red leaf lettuce, avocado and cucumber.