Tomato Garlic Macaroni Soup

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Tomato Garlic Macaroni Soup

 

2 garlic bulbs

2 large yellow onions

2 leeks, white part only

4 tablespoons olive oil or butter

26 ounce tomatoes, chopped

1 dried ancho peppers, optional

1 quart tomato broth

1 quart vegetable broth

6 cups water

rosemary

basil

parsley

sea salt

pepper

8 ounce macaroni

parmesan cheese, optional

 

Separate the garlic bulbs into cloves and peel. Divide garlic cloves into

three piles. Mince onions with one third of the garlic cloves (I use a

food processor). Heat oil or butter in large (6 quart or more) pot and

saute onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Slice leeks thinly with

another third of the garlic cloves (I use the food processor again, with a

#2 slicing disk, but any slicing disk works fine, as does a knife), and

add to the pot. Saute until soft. Remove the stem and seeds from the

ancho peppers. Add the tomatoes, broths and water to the pot; then add

the herbs and ancho peppers. (I always have cheesecloth around, so I

usually chop up the fresh herbs and put them with the dried ancho pepper

in a piece of cheesecloth that I tie up like a bag; this makes it easy to

fish the herbs and ancho out at the end, which makes the soup prettier.)

Bring to a boil, cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for two hours

until the onion and leek have pretty well melted into the soup. If

fishing the herbs and ancho pepper out of the soup isn't too messy, do it

now. Slice the reserved garlic very very thinly, and add to the soup pot.

Add water if it has gotten too thick. Simmer covered, for 30 minutes. If

you are going to save the soup and serve it tomorrow, stop here, cool and

refrigerate it. Otherwise, keep going. 10 minutes before serving,

uncover the pot, taste the soup, season with salt and pepper and bring to

a rolling boil. Add the macaroni, and cook for a couple minutes less than

you usually would, because you aren't going to drain it. Or, cook the

macaroni separately and add it just before you ladle the soup into bowls.

Grate a little parmesan cheese over the top, if you like.

For one quart of tomato

broth, chop four pounds or more or fresh or canned plum tomatoes (or use 4

lbs of Pomi tomatoes in the box, which come already chopped), and put in a

4 quart pot with 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil, 1

Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, and 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary.

Bring just to a boil, stirring, and then strain immediately through a fine

mesh strainer, stirring the mixture from time to time with a wire

whisk will help it get through the strainer.