Curried Coconut Tomato Soup

It’s a dreary, rainy day here in Virginia Beach, and I am up to my ankles in toddler craft supplies and antibiotics. Strep throat is making its way through the family, person by person, so we will probably be holed up here for a few days until everyone is feeling better. We’ve kept the last few days busy with arts and crafts, walks at the beach, books, and several trips to the pediatrician’s office, but today’s weather is threatening to make today ripe with tantrums, meltdowns, and general discontentment about not being able to play in the backyard.

Barring another trip to the pediatrician’s office, today’s plans involve making these cookies and tomato soup, which may sound a bit pedestrian, but then you probably haven’t tasted this soup. It starts off as many tomato soups do, with thinly sliced onions cooked in olive oil, but that’s where things change. Before any tomatoes hit the pot, you add some curry powder, cumin, coriander, and a touch of chili powder and let that mingle with the oil and onions until your kitchen is deliciously fragrant. Tomatoes follow, then a quick buzz from the blender, some coconut milk, and suddenly you are scraping down your second bowl of soup, wondering why you hadn’t thought of this sooner.

One note about coconut milk: Use the Thai stuff (Thai Kitchen doesn’t count) and don’t use anything labeled “lite.” It’s usually watered down and then thickened with guar gum or other gum products, which gives an end product that tastes how I imagine coconut-scented glue paste must taste. This is the brand I use, which you can find at most Asian or international markets.

Curried Coconut Tomato Soup
Melissa Clark, Cook This Now

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder (I use Madras)
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch chili powder
1 (28-ounce) can diced or whole peeled plum tomatoes
2 (13.5-ounce) cans coconut milk
Chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or basil, for garnish

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is meltingly tender, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat and add a sprinkle of water if necessary to keep the onion from browning.

2. Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chili powder, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice and 4 cups water. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth (or blend in the pot with an immersion blender). Return the soup to the pan. Whisk in 1 can coconut milk. Spoon off ½ cup cream from the top of the second can (reserve the remaining milk for another use) and whisk it into the soup.* Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Gently heat the soup over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until it reaches the desired consistency. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

*If you open your can of coconut milk and find that it is mostly or all the consistency of coconut cream, you don’t need to open the second can and add the extra half cup of coconut cream.