Roasted Tomato Soup with Pepper Jelly Shrimp

On chilly winter days, a bowl of garnet-colored tomato soup is a treat. It brightens the table as well as our spirits. This soup offers the warm taste of roasted tomatoes along with a bit of spice from two types of peppers. Creamy despite having no cream, it is just the right companion for a grilled cheese sandwich or you can dress it up with sizzling, cooked shrimp atop.

I first started making this soup several years ago after discovering it on Rick Bayless’s web site. Bayless, the writer of several cookbooks about Mexican cooking and celebrated chef of Frontera Grill in Chicago, has a real talent for blending simple flavors into outstanding dishes.

The soup starts with diced onion, carrots, and celery root. While I frequently use celery stems in my soup bases, I found the root (or celeriac) to be especially flavorful. No doubt, it’s one of the ugliest vegetables in the produce bin, but underneath that bumpy brown exterior lies a white gem. The flesh of celeriac has the consistency of a potato, but a mild celery flavor, and after sautéing a bit, becomes both sweet and savory.

Using canned fire-roasted tomatoes means that you can have the flavors of summer in the dead of winter. And, along with boxed beef broth, roasted tomatoes are easy to find at the grocery store. The single potato that simmers in the soup delivers a creamy texture.

Bayless added a whole habanero to his soup, but I subdued the pepper heat a bit. Instead of the habanero, I added a diced jalapeño when the minced garlic went into the soup for a quick sauté. And then I halved a whole serrano chile, removed the seeds and ribs, and allowed it to simmer, delivering great flavor.  To keep the pepper level tame, I removed the serrano before puréeing the soup. If you wanted a spicier flavor, you could certainly leave it in.

We enjoyed this soup the first time we ate it with just a bit of salad and a piece of baguette. It was also a great partner to grilled cheese sandwiches.

But after my daughter Ellen used Bayless’s suggestion and grilled shrimp to crown her soup, I knew I had to try that approach as well.  I marinated some peeled, raw shrimp in a mixture of pepper jelly* and minced garlic.  When I was ready to serve the soup, I quickly sautéed the shrimp and placed them atop.  

The slight sweetness and zing of the shrimp complemented the savory soup perfectly, reminding me of a shrimp cocktail. 

This roasted tomato soup is a great way to bring color and vibrancy to a cold, gray day. You can also make it ahead of time—in fact, we found it improved in flavor after a day in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

*I was lucky to have delicious homemade pepper jelly gifted to us by my sister, but any commercial brand would work.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Pepper Jelly Shrimp

Dawn Dobie

Garnet-colored soup filled with flavor

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 4 quarts

Ingredients

  

For the soup:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium celery root or celeriac diced small to total about 2 cups
• 4 medium carrots diced small, to total about 1 1/3 cup
• 1 jalapeño pepper diced
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 28- ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
• 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 serrano chile split in half, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 medium potato peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Optional:
• 2-3 tablespoons of honey
• Additional minced parsley for garnish

For the shrimp:

• 1 pound of raw shrimp
• 5 tablespoons pepper jelly
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

 

For the soup:

• Heat the olive oil in a large soup pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, until the onions have begun to become golden around the edges. Add the celery root and carrots and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so, stirring now and then.
• Stir in the garlic and jalapeño and cook for one more minute.
• Stir the tomato paste into the sautéed onion mixture. Cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, to help remove the raw tomato taste.
• Add the broth, stirring to combine it with the tomato paste-onion mixture, then add the cans of fire-roasted tomatoes along with their juices and the chopped potato. Stir to combine. Drop in the serrano chile.
• Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 45 minutes. All of the vegetables in the soup should be soft. If they’re not, cook it a little longer. Fish out the serrano chile.
• Using a ladle, transfer the soup in batches to a blender. Process until the soup is puréed, transfer to a large bowl, and then do the next batch, always being careful as you handle the hot liquid. (Or use an immersion blender to purée the soup mixture right in the pot.)
• If using the blender, return the soup to the cooking pan and stir in the parsley. Taste for salt and pepper, adding what is needed.

For the shrimp:

• Stir the pepper jelly and minced garlic together in medium bowl. Add the shrimp, stirring to coat well. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes per side, until pink. Remove to a plate or bowl.  After ladling soup into individual bowls, top with shrimp and a sprinkle of parsley.

Notes

Rick Bayless suggests adding 2-3 tablespoons of honey to the soup after it is blended to counterbalance the tomatoes’ acidity; we liked the soup as it was and opted not to add honey.

If you want a less complicated approach to the shrimp, you can simply season the raw shrimp with one teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Tony Chacere's) and refrigerate covered for 30 minutes. Cook in the olive oil as directed above, right before serving the soup. This approach is delicious, too.

The soup can be made up to 4 days ahead of time. Cool, cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well.