Smoky Tomato Soup

In honour of a New Year's resolution to be healthier and in light of all of the overeating and indulgence over the holidays, our posts this month will include many healthy recipes from various sources.  One of these sources of inspiration for this health-kick is a book which contains recipes that are not so much 'health foods' as recipes that focus on fresh produce, lean meats, and less oil, salt, and sugar. The aforementioned cookbook is the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook, by Liz Vaccariello.  My first 'healthy' dinner of 2012 was this smoky tomato soup.  I made this soup for some girlfriends who came over to watch the season premiere of The Bachelor (our Monday night TV indulgence) and it was quite a hit.  We ate it without the avocado but decided that this would be a great soup for chili-like toppings such as corn, black beans or a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. I also reduced the amount of smoked paprika in the recipe to one teaspoon and found that this was enough to be smoky without being overpowering.

Adapted From: The Flat Belly Cookbook

4 Servings (1 1/4 cups each)

Nutrition per Serving (with avocado)

180 calories

6 g protein

22 g carbs

7 g fat

1.5 saturated fat

6 g fibre

2 14oz cans  fire-roasted tomatoes

1/2 sweet onion, sliced

1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth

1 cup water

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder

1 cup buttermilk*

dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt to garnish

1 avocado, sliced to garnish

*If you do not have buttermilk you can make an equivalent substitute by combining 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar.  Stir and let rest for 10 minutes before using.  For this recipe I used 1 cup skim milk and 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar to mimic the buttermilk.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a baking dish or lasagna pan. Pour the tomatoes (with juice) into the pan and scatter the sliced onions over the top. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the mixture is thick and the onions begin to brown.

Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the broth, water, paprika and chili powder and puree until smooth.  Heat the soup mixture in a pot over medium-low heat until heated through.  Add the buttermilk and stir to combine.  Ladle into 4 soup bowls, or mugs, and garnish with Greek yogurt and avocado slices or other toppings of choice.

Review (out of 5): *****