I recently came by a recipe for Bloody Mary soup in a magazine and I was really excited about it. I love Bloody Marys, but it isn’t always appropriate to have one. Soup, though, I can have any time of day. But when I made the recipe it came out really thick. The recipe called for pureed beans and celery, which gave it a chunky and stringy texture. I was not a fan. So I decided to try my hand at making a soup recipe all my own. I’ve never made up a soup recipe before! I did a bunch of research, used a bunch of recipes as inspiration, tinkered a bit, and then I came up with something brand new that I really liked.

Let me warn you by saying I like Bloody Marys really spicy. I love this soup because the initial taste is sweet and full of tomato flavor, but then quickly the heat starts to tingle in the back of your throat and then rushes forward into your lips. It’s wonderful. Although, I didn’t give Ryan any warning when he tasted it and his eyes popped out a little bit. But I love spicy flavors in a soup. For me, they are a cure all. I think it will help clear your sinuses when you’re sick or can pep you up when it is cold and dreary outside. I also think Bloody Marys are a great hang over cure. I mean, not that I’ve ever been hungover. But if you were hungover, I think this would be both soothing and invigorating. If you were having a wild holiday party, make a batch the night before, then in the morning heat the soup, line cups with Old Bay, pop in a celery stick and you’ve got warming morning cocktails to serve your house guests.

Now if you’re not into spice, don’t worry! In the instructions below I’ll be sure to tell you how to adjust the seasoning to fit your palate. That’s the great thing about cocktails, right? You can fix them to suit your taste!

Since I’m from Maryland, I love Old Bay and will put it on everything. I put it in the soup in place of some salt, I sprinkled it on top for seasoning, and I lined the rim of the bowl. If you don’t have Old Bay, no worries. You can use some salt to season instead. Finally, if you want an added kick, consider adding horseradish cream. I like it because it adds spice from the horseradish and simultaneously eases the spice because of the cream. If you’re not interested in the cream, the soup is still excellent without it. Ok, now you’ll be ready for all your weekend partying. You’re welcome.

Soup recipe inspired by delicious magazine and Mark Bittman’s winter tomato soup. But I think it’s mostly mine and I’m really proud of that. Horseradish cream from BBC Good Food.

Messy level: I don’t have an immersion blender, so for me, this recipe is a three spoon mess. I used a tray to roast the tomatoes, a blender to puree the tomatoes, and a pot to simmer the soup. That makes a lot of things to clean and a lot of opportunity for spills. If you have an immersion blender, then you’ll have a little less clean up.

Bloody Mary Soup with Old Bay

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Serves: 4-6 bowls

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 5-10 garlic cloves (use less if you want less intensity)
• 800g/28oz canned, whole peeled tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp Old Bay
• 1-2 tsp chili flakes (I used 2 tsp, use less if you want less heat)
• 2-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (use more stock if you want to dilute the heat)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• juice from ½ lemon
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• celery stalks (optional garnish)
• vodka (optional)
• Horseradish Cream (optional):
• 1 tbsp horseradish
• 4 tbsp of crème fraîche
• salt and pepper
• juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350°/180°.
2. Pour some olive oil on a baking sheet.
3. Take the garlic cloves off of the bulb, and cut a little bit off of the top. Don't peel them. We'll pop them out of their skins easily after roasting. Put the prepared garlic on the baking sheet.
4. Drain the canned tomatoes. Reserve the liquid.
5. Cut the tomatoes in half.
6. Put the tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with more olive oil. Season the tomatoes with salt, celery salt, Old Bay, and chili flakes.
7. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes. The tomatoes are ready when they have started to dry out and get a little bit dark and brown in spots.
8. Remove from the oven. Add the tomatoes to a blender (add to directly to a pot if you have an immersion blender).
9. Let the garlic cool a bit so you can touch it. Pinch the bottom of the garlic and it will shoot up through the top (where you cut before) and it will be easily free from its skin. Add the garlic to the blender.
10. If there are crunchy bits on the baking sheet pour a little stock on them. Use a spatula to scrape them off. Pour the crunchy bits and the stock into the blender. (The crunchy bits are yummy caramelized tomato juices)
11. Add the reserved tomato liquid to the blender. Blend until mostly smooth.
12. Heat the tomato puree in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in 2 cups of stock, the lemon juice, and the Worcestershire sauce.
13. Taste. Too spicy? Add more stock. Not spicy enough? Add Tabasco sauce ¼ tsp at a time.
14. Simmer for 20 minutes so all the flavors can mingle together.
15. While the soup is simmering, prepare the horseradish cream. In a small bowl mix the horseradish, crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
16. Serve the soup in a bowl, top with a dollop of cream. Pour in a splash of vodka if you like. Garnish with a stalk of celery and a sprinkling of Old Bay.

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This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event to encourage bloggers to try new food related things. Jules from The Kiwi Diaries is the host for this month’s event.

If you have a blog and you are eating or cooking something new this month, you can get more information here about how to join.

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