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Cajun Spiced Tomato Soup in Honor of Mardi Gras

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This Cajun spicy tomato soup is perfect for cold weather and doubly perfect for celebrating Mardi Gras!overhead shot of cajun spicy tomato soup in two different bowlsI usually make King Cake for Mardi Gras. Because: cake! But this year, it is cold-cold-cold, and while baked goods are never turned down around here, it truly is soup weather.

cajun spiced tomato soup 1

That shape up there is supposed to be a fleur de lis. I get points for trying. It’s just sour cream thinned with a little milk, a pinch of salt and some Cajun seasoning.

I made this spicy tomato soup on the fly a couple of weeks ago for dinner. It was so good that I made it again–this time complete with bacon and Swiss croutons–for lunch with friends a couple of days ago. They loved it, and friend Roxanne encouraged me to go ahead and post it. So here I am, posting it. I figure since it was already Cajun-spiced that Cajun-spicey tomato soup would be appropriate for Mardi Gras. We can all Laissez Les Bontemps Roulez while bundled up nice and warm.cajun spiced tomato soup 2

As usual, when I think I’ve come up with something Unique and Awesome, the Internets smack me down and let me know that 19,400 people came up with unique and awesome spicy tomato soup before me. Fine. But the grilled cheese and bacon croutons are mine. Mine! (If you don’t count the 1400+ references on the Hinternets)

cajun spiced tomato soup 4How to Make Spicy Tomato Soup

Soup is an easy thing to make, friends. Here’s the rundown for this particular soup:

  • Saute aromatics.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients.
  • Simmer.
  • Blend.
  • Serve.

The first Cajun tomato soup that comes up in search is this one from Food Coma. It sounds good, and the ingredient list is short which means you get soup Very Quickly. Mine has a few more ingredients (shocking, right?) but does pay tribute to The Trinity of Cajun and Creole cuisine: onions, celery and bell pepper.

Cajun Spiced Tomato Soup (with Grilled Cheese and Bacon Croutons)

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
This makes a ton--probably close to 2 quarts or even a bit more. Feel free to cut the recipe in half. You'll still have 4 nice-sized portions. The way the recipe is written, it is vegetarian. You can easily make it vegan by using oil for the cooking fat and using vegetable stock or water for the liquid.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tablespoons butter or oil
  • 1 medium-to-large yellow or sweet onion, , chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, , chopped
  • 2 medium bell peppers, , ribs and seeds removed, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons** your favorite Cajun seasoning, (or to taste. If you're not a fan of really spicy, start with 1-2 teaspoons and go from there)
  • 2 teaspoons** sweet or hot smoked paprika, optional but nice
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, , to taste
  • 2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes, , juice and all
  • 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock, , vegetable broth or stock or water
  • 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar

For the Crouton Garnish (optional)

  • 6 slices your favorite bread
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Grated cheese, (whatever you like that melts well)
  • 4-6 slices of bacon, , cooked crisp and crumbled into small pieces

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan or Dutch oven.
  2. Add the chopped vegetables and spices (cajun seasoning, sweet and hot paprika, salt and pepper) and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened but not browned.
  3. Add both cans of tomatoes and the liquid (stock or water). Bring to a boil, choppping up the tomatoes as the soup heats.
  4. Stir in the red wine vinegar and the sugar. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more spices, salt and/or pepper if you think the soup needs it.
  5. Blend in batches in a (affiliate) high speed blender or using an (affiliate) immersion blender until the soup is velvety smooth.
  6. Taste again and adjust seasonings if necessary.
  7. Serve piping hot in mugs or bowls. Garnish with grilled cheese croutons, some cream or sour cream or just a dusting of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

For the Crouton Garnish (optional)

  1. Toast both sides of all the slices of bread.
  2. Sprinkle just a bit of Worcestershire sauce on three of the slices of bread.
  3. Spread a nice layer of grated cheese on all 6 slices of bread.
  4. Spread 1/3 of the crumbled bacon on each of three slices of the bread without the Worcestershire.
  5. Melt the cheese under the broiler or in your (affiliate) toaster oven until bubbly.
  6. Sandwich a cheese slice with a bacon and cheese slice so you have three whole sandwiches.
  7. Remove to a rack to cool so the cheese sets up some.
  8. With a serrated knife, cut off the crusts of each sandwich, reserving them for your own snacking pleasure.
  9. Cut the remaining crustless sandwiches into 12-20 small squares (I cut mine in 16). Place on parchment or foil and return to the oven or toaster oven to keep warm until the soup is ready.
  10. Garnish each bowl of soup with a handful of croutons, a drizzle of oil and some black pepper or a bit of sour cream or cream.

Notes

**We like a fair bit of spice around here. If you think these amounts sound like too much, by all means start with less and then add more at the end if you'd like things a bit spicier.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 303 Total Fat: 17.9g Saturated Fat: 8.9g Cholesterol: 46mg Carbohydrates: 22.6g Fiber: 4.7g Sugar: 10.5g Protein: 14.8g
© onlinepastrychef
Cuisine: Cajun / Category: Soup
About that Food Coma tomato soup up there? Well, I was reading the comments, and I came across this:

Soup, soup, a-tasty
soup, soup, a-spicy
carrot and corriander!
chilli chowder!
crouton, crouton,
crunchy friends in a liquid broth!
I am gazpacho, ooh!
I am a summer soup, mmm!
miso, miso,
fighting in the dojo
miso, miso,
oriental prince in the land of soup!

I was impressed and amazed that anyone would find soup so worthy of poetry, especially in blog comments. My friend Lisa, who is Very Smart, told me it’s from a scene in the British comedy show The Mighty Boosh. Here it is, should you wish to hear it set to music.

 

 

Now I am inspired to write my own Ode to Soup. And Mardi Gras.

Ahem.

Trinity trinity
Onions-celery-bell peppa
Base of all the tastiness
That comes from Louisiana

Spicy tomato, silky soup
Warms us on this icy day
And in the parades the krewes proclaim
Soup-soup-soup hooray hooray!

 

For more soup poetry inspiration, read Laura’s (Mother Would Know) post on “How to Make Vegetable Soup.” The entire recipe is written as a poem, and it is lovely. Please go read.

 

And there you have it. Should you feel inspired to write an Ode to Soup, please share it in the comments.

Thank you for spending some time with me here today. Have a lovely day.

If you like spicy soup and are a fan of Cajun food, you'll love this Cajun spicy tomato soup. Comforting and warming, and completely delicious with grilled cheese and bacon croutons on top! #mardigras #tomatosoup #souprecipes | pastrychefonline.com
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What Others Are Saying...

  2. I knew it was a fleur de lis, who wouldn’t? Sounds delightful and reads like poetry 🙂 I don’t think I could improve on it, so I’ll leave the recipe and the poetry to you, but thanks for the haiku’s and links to prose. I think there is nothing so comforting as soup….

    Reply

  3. My soup
    My warmy bowl
    My pleasing coup
    Of liquid soul
    I spoon with you
    While other meals
    Please with ease
    Their preparation
    Gyrations
    Do not bend my will
    To ‘said’ meal
    Perfected only
    By tonics and libations
    My soup
    Sits tall
    With what I need
    For when it calls
    I simply heed
    And, indeed,
    It will feed
    Me

    Reply

  5. Ode to Soup

    Soup:
    A comfort to me
    Whether a broth or a cream,

    It tastes like heaven
    Or so it would seem,

    It warms the body
    And feeds my soul,

    It fortifies the body
    Soup keeps me whole,

    On a cold and dreary day
    Soup chases my blues far far away,

    My mother made potato
    A soup I ate when ill,

    Today when I eat soup
    It takes away the chil,l

    Soup is good food
    No matter when I eat it,

    I’ll always turn to soup
    As long as I see fit!

    Here’s mine! I’m not a poet; I’ll leave that to the pros! But I did make myself chuckle while writing this… xo
    GREAT spicy soup recipe!

    Reply

  7. What a gorgeous soup and tribute to the Trinity! And, for your reading pleasure, the soup poem I just wrote.

    Fragrant broth from meaty bones
    simmering stovetop, steaming up windows
    warming the kitchen with anticipation
    softened vegetables, tender meat
    I dip my rounded spoon, breaking the delectable surface,
    just a thin sheen of oil
    And slurp

    Reply

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