Quick and Easy V8 Tomato Soup

For the past few days, I have been in a dilemma as to what recipe to post. I had two options, this soup and some awesome juice combinations. The weather was getting slightly warmer and I thought, okay let’s put the juice recipes. But then two days ago it went back to being extremely cold; looks like the winter is not ready to leave us!!! Another reason for making this soup…I have had a whole bunch of these juices lying about at home for quite some time. I realized that it contained very little sugar and the final product was definitely less sweeter than most tomato soups you buy. So, here is the recipe: a tribute to the relentless winter.

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)

Soup

V8 Low sodium vegetable juice – 2 cans

Roughly chopped onion – ½ cup

Finely chopped garlic – 2 cloves

Cumin powder – 1-1 ½ tsps

Herbs of choice (I used dried mint, rosemary and basil)

Water as required

Olive oil/cooking oil – 1 ½ tbsps

Salt to taste

A dash of hot sauce

Method

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is tender. Add the juice, cumin powder, salt, herbs, and water. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until the mixture thickens a bit.

You can also blend the mixture for a smoother, creamier soup.

Add a dash (or more) of hot sauce and serve with crunchy homemade croutons. Bon Appétit.

Croutons

Ingredients

Butter – 1 tbsp

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Bread – 2 slices

Mint/Rosemary/or any herb of choice – 1 tbsp

Method

I used regular whole wheat bread, but you could use any bread like a baguette, sour dough etc. In a pan, heat oil and butter on medium heat. Add the herbs and heat it for a minute. Add the chopped bread and toss to coat. Reduce the heat, and let it get crunchy (about 10-15 minutes). Keep tossing to ensure even crunchiness.  Add a few croutons to your soup and enjoy. Bon Appétit.

Note: For those of you who have not heard of the V8 juice, well there is always the good old tomato soup.