I think it’s safe to say that tomato soup on a cold winter day is an iconic comfort food. This elevated version is quick and easy and oh so tasty. Serve for a light lunch with a side salad and some bread, or it makes a great soup course at dinner. Make sure you have an immersion blender or high heat blender handy before diving into this recipe though! A quick note on the cheese, yes you could use a normal mozzarella if you can’t find smoked but you obviously won’t end up with smoked flavor so I highly highly recommend it! If you must, subbing half smoked cheddar/half plain mozzarella in a pinch over just plain mozzarella would work. Do not use fresh mozzarella, you need one with less moisture similar to pizza mozzarella. I used PC Smoked Mozzarella from the deli section. Also for the same reason, I highly recommend smoked paprika although you can use regular if it’s all you have access to.

• 2 tablespoons of salted butter
• 2 tablespoons of good high heat oil (I’m using avocado)
• 1 medium finely diced yellow onion
• 3 small or 2 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 2 cups of grated smoked mozzarella
• 3/4 cup of heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: olive oil and garlic croutons for garnish

1. Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add your oil and butter. Once butter is melted and starting to bubble, add your onions. Add a few turns of salt and pepper (I prefer pink salt and peppercorn but if just using pre-ground, think a pinch of each sprinkled over top) and mix up. Cook for anywhere around 5 minutes, stirring often and watching for the onions to begin to become translucent.

2. Once at that stage turn to medium heat and add your garlic and mix in well. Sautee for about 30 seconds then add your paprika. Mix it in to toast for another 30 seconds. Add your tomato paste and mix in well for another 30 seconds.

3. Add your diced tomatoes and chicken broth and mix, scraping the bottom with a wooden or plastic spoon to loosen any of the browned flavoring stuck to the bottom. Cover, increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and using immersion blender, blend in pot until smooth. If using an actual blender, carefully pour into your blender, blend until smooth, and return to pot. You may need to do two batches depending on the size of your blender.

5. Return your soup over medium low heat and start slowly adding in the mozzarella about half of a cup at a time, stirring as it melts in.

6. Finally, add your cream and mix in, remove from heat and serve. I like to garnish with a couple garlic croutons and a drizzle of good olive oil.

I hope you enjoy and as always let me know if you make it and how it turned out in the comments below!