Soup As a Meal

Bean, Vegetable and Sausage Soup (photo by Andy Mills)

I used to associate soup with being sick.  I’d be lying in bed, and my grandmother would bring me a bowl of homemade chicken soup.  I’d slurp it up and feel better.

Actually, I think this is a false memory.  My grandmother lived too far away to bring me soup, although whenever we visited her chicken soup was invariably on the menu.

My mother’s go-to remedy for illness was canned tomato soup, which had its own distinctive taste.  Neither soup will I ever willingly eat again.

Bacon and Tomato Soup is another matter.  I first tasted it in a cooking class, and it was magical.  I ate three bowls on the spot and then made it for dinner that very night.  Sometime later I discovered the joy of canned lentil soup, and it also became a go-to meal. 

My food world really opened up when Bart and I moved to London.  At first I was distraught because English bacon didn’t taste like American bacon, and I couldn’t find canned lentil soup. 

How silly I was.  Can I blame it on youth?  Eventually I discovered that Sainsbury’s, my local grocery store, sold bags of dried lentils and that bookstores sold cookbooks that included recipes for lentil soup. 

I also stumbled across Elizabeth David, a noted British food writer who helped transform British food from stodgy to distinctive.  Soon I was trying her recipes for Oeufs a la Monteynard (an egg/rice casserole) and Coq au Vin (Chicken in Wine Sauce) from her French Country Cooking. 

Living in another country did wonders for my cooking.  Heavy-duty dishes like Split Pea Soup, Pasta and Bean Soup, Clam Chowder and Tortilla Soup became family traditions.  They’re easy to make and filling – perfect one-dish meals.  When I worried there wouldn’t be enough to fill us up, I added some crusty French bread and a salad. 

In honor of my first favorite soup, here’s the recipe:

Bacon and Tomato Soup - serves 4 (adapted from “Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen”) 

4 slices bacon
1 small onion
2 tablespoons flour
1 15-ounce can ready-cut tomatoes
Dash ground black pepper
Dash salt
2 cups whole milk

Cook the bacon in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat.  When the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes, remove and drain on a paper towel.  Pour half the bacon fat left in the pot into an empty can and discard it.  Leave the remaining fat in the pot and set aside.

Peel the onion and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces.  Begin heating the pot with the remaining fat over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften.  Add the flour and stir until absorbed.

Add the tomatoes and their liquid, black pepper and salt and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Turn down the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  The mixture will begin to thicken.  Add the milk and heat until the soup is hot but not boiling.  Cut or break the cooked bacon into bite-size pieces and drop into the soup.  Serve.