I'm a tomato fanatic and I think this is the best vegan tomato soup around! Made with simple ingredients to highlight the tomato flavor and no added sugar.
Warm the olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt, and cook it for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, and ground black pepper, and cook for about 60 seconds more, until fragrant. Immediately add the wine and stir.
After the wine starts to bubble, stir in the tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly reduced and richer in flavor. This simmering time is what will tame the acidity of the tomatoes and build more natural sweetness.
Remove from the heat, stir in the fresh basil, and use an immersion blender to blend the whole thing until smooth (or leave a few chunks here and there, if you like); or, transfer to a blender and blend, in batches if needed. Season to taste with salt.
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Notes
TOMATOES: Use a quality canned tomato with little or no additives. It is important to use crushed tomatoes, not diced or whole, in order to get the smoothest texture out of your soup. The brand I like to use is called Cento. It costs about a dollar more and is very worth it for this recipe.OTHER VEGGIES: I'll turn the other cheek if you want to adulterate your vegan tomato soup with random vegetables. That said, to give this more of a vegetable soup flavor and more natural sweetness, try adding some diced celery and carrot along with the onion.ACIDITY/SWEETNESS: Depending on your tomatoes and how long you're able to cook the soup, it may be more acidic than you would like. A small amount of maple syrup or brown sugar is the perfect antidote. You can also add tomato paste to deepen the tomato flavor.