Variation on Katies' Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup

12 years ago

Okay, would you eat this/consider this safe? Reading the various posts about what makes canning soups safe vs. unsafe, I think I've got a variation that should be safe, but I'd love the input of others who have been at this longer than I have.

4lbs tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 8 cloves garlic - all brushed sparingly with olive oil and sprinkled with 1/2 tsp salt, then roasted at 350 for 1 hour.

Cook with 3 cups chicken broth, 2 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp dried oregano for 20 minutes.

Puree in blender.

Process pints at 10 psi for 60 minutes.

Basically, I'm reducing the garlic, removing the carrot, adding a little sugar, removing fresh basil and adding dried oregano.

As a reminder/reference, here is the "official" Katie's Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup recipe:

12 tomatoes -- *see Note

2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces

1 large onion -- quartered

2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste)

olive oil

2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried)

Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until almost smooth. To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000 ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft.

Any feedback on the safety of my tweaks is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Kathy

Comments (2)

digdirt2
12 years ago
Safety-wise, you can always reduce or leave out low-acid ingredients (carrots, garlic, fresh basil) as long as you do not INcrease other low-acid ingredients to make up the difference. They remain the same amounts. Increasing the sugar is no problem and using dried herbs is no problem.

So there is no safety issues I can see from the info you have posted, just a different taste result.

That said, for future reference, it's best to avoid getting too "modification happy" with canning recipes. Especially if new to the process. It is an easy trap to fall into - we all have - and an easy way to get into trouble. :)

Dave
Kathy F
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for your input, Dave. I'm actually trying to see if I can adapt my previously favorite Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup recipe to be safe for canning. I have been making, freezing, and swooning over this soup for 3 years. My freezer is now full, and I've got about 6 more pounds of almost ripe San Marzano tomatoes; I find less-than-ripe tomatoes don't hurt this recipe at all. It seems pretty close to Katie's but with one unacceptable difference- namely the 5 TBS of olive oil. So I was hoping by backing off on that and roasting the onions vs. sauteeing them I'd end up with something that tastes as good but is safe to can.

Adapted from Epicurious recipe:
4 lb tomatoes, halved lengthwise
6 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350F.

Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan and add garlic to pan. Drizzle tomatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes and garlic 1 hour, then cool in pan on a rack. Peel garlic.

Cook onion, oregano, and sugar in olive oil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and stock and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.

Puree soup in batches in a blender.

Kathy