Smoky Tomato Soup {vegan}

Happy New Year's Resolution Month!

At the Y, where I teach yoga, there's this strange phenomenon where we are SO FREAKING BUSY right now.  Then.....in March....we aren't so busy.  It seems that folks make some life goals around January 1?  Maybe you do that?  

I'm not a huge fan of resolutions because it seems that they're built to set us up to fail, somehow.  Instead, I'm on the path-of-moderation-always-trying-hard, but I know sometimes at this year it's really satisfying to take a few extra steps to be really healthy and active, right?  

In that spirit, let's eat soup!  It's FREEZING in some parts of the country right now (I'm in Hawaii, so....sorry!), and a nice soup is so perfect on days like these.  The problem, of course, is that sometimes soups that are comforting are also stuffed with meat and cream and served with bread and butter so....maybe  not quite as healthy as necessary the first week of January.  Just a thought. 

This soup, though, is hearty yet SUPER healthy, vegan, and totes easy to make.  It's mainly a regular tomato soup with some extra veg, but the addition of smoked paprika makes it super sexified.  It's easy, too!  You just need celery, canned tomatoes, onion, carrot, garlic, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper (optional, leave it out if you don't like spice), beer, and vegetable stock.  You can use chicken stock too if you don't care about the vegan thing!

First, let's heat a pan to medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and start on the veggies.  I do a chop/add method here so that the hardest veggies (carrots) go first, then cook while I cut up the next veg, and so forth.  So, cut the carrots!  2 medium carrots or a handful of baby carrots, which is what I had.  Chop them finely.

Add the carrots to the pan - they should start to warm and cook a bit, but not sizzle like crazy.  Turn the heat down if you need to!  

Now, the celery.  Cut the ribs into teensy strips, then cut the strips into bits.  Try to aim for the veggies to be approx the same size, but don't obsess over it. 

Add the celery to the carrots, and give the first two veggies a stir.  

Then onion!  In case you haven't been following along at home, here's how I cut an onion:  Cut the ends off, then cut the onion in half and remove the peel from the halves. 

Then, cut the onion halves into big planks, strips, then bits - a three way chop for nice tiny bits is my preference. 

When the onion is cut, add it to the veggies.  Stir them together and sprinkle with salt.  

Peel the garlic and finely chop it - this is the only veggie that will be chopped more finely than the others.  

Add the garlic to the pot. 

Then, add the spices!  1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and as much crushed red pepper as you can handle, with a sprinkle of salt if you haven't added much yet to the veggies. 

Stir everything together and SMELL THE PAPRIKA.  Yes!  Delicious smell.  Let the veggies cook with the spices and garlic for 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and NOW.  If you'd like to, add a sprinkle of flour right here to thicken the soup just slightly.  This is totally optional, and doesn't make a huge difference - just a tiny bit more viscosity to the soup once it's done.  If you do add the flour, stir it into the veggies for one minute.  

Now, turn the heat up to medium-high and pour in the beer, stirring as you go to fully combine the beer with the veggies.   Let the beer bubble and reduce by about half....

....then add the stock.  Start with 1 cup and add more if you need to later. Add the tomatoes here too - crushed or diced are fine, your choice!

Stir the soup together and let it simmer covered for 10 - 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.  

Now, we blend!  I have an immersion blender, but a regular blender or food processor works great for this application.  

Use whatever you have and puree the soup about halfway - I like to have some texture left in the soup.

Like this!  Taste the soup and add more salt or crushed red pepper if you'd like.  If needed, add a bit more stock to thin the soup to your preference.

Now, serve!  I like bread and a few green onions on top of the soup, but black pepper, croutons, or cheese (for non-vegan) would be delicious.  Use whatever you like!

Enjoy this one, healthy eaters. The smoked paprika gives almost a meaty flavor to the soup, and the texture is really great from all the vegetables.  

What's your fav new year food?  What should we make together next?  I have a request for scallops, which are forthcoming, but tell me what else I should be making!

Recipe