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Recipe: Old-Fashioned Tomato Soup

Focused on Health - January 2011

The tomato gets its classic red hue from an antioxidant called lycopene. Studies show that lycopene has the potential to soup fight prostate cancer in men and endometrial cancer, the fourth most common cancer found in women.

The evidence is even stronger for processed tomato products, such as tomato sauce and even ketchup. That’s because processing the tomato releases the lycopene so it can be more easily absorbed by the body.

This low-fat tomato soup will warm your tummy and give you your daily dose of lycopene.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (28-oz.) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. ground mace
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. snipped dill, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Melt the butter in a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until the onions are golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices, the sugar, thyme, mace and cayenne.
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer the soup until the tomatoes and onion are soft, about 15 minutes.
Let the soup sit 20 minutes, uncovered.
Transfer it to a blender and reduce the mixture to a purée, either pulpy or completely smooth, as desired. Blend in the half-and-half.
Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the soup hot, sprinkling one-fourth of the dill over each bowl, if using.

Yield: 4 servings

Each serving provides:
Calories: 105 calories
Total fat: 3 grams
Saturated fat: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 18 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Dietary fiber: less than 1 gram
Sodium: 586 millograms

Recipe courtesy of American Institute for Cancer Research