I'm a Convert: Tuttorosso had Me at Hello

I recieved a sample package of tomatoes recently from Tuttorosso, and here's what I found inside:

The box included three kinds of tomatoes, a cleverly designed ergonomic pot holder, several recipe cards, a refrigerator magnet imprinted with useful kitchen information, and a drink koozie.

Why a drink koozie, you may ask?

I don't know. I would think a collapsible wine glass would be more apropos, but perhaps that's just my drink preference talking.

I decided that I'd use the first can for my Tuscan Tomato Soup.

While I chopped an onion, I could hear the green olive oil start to bubble in my favorite vintage enameled pot.

It made a good, hot sound.

I tasted the tomatoes straight out of the can, which I don't usually do. I tend to wait until all the ingredients are in before taking my first sample. Often the tomatoes are tinny or tart, and I worry about how the soup will come out. I've found that the off flavor cooks out with some time. In this case however, the tomatoes were amazing right from the container; fresh, and sweet, the basil florally apparent.

I would have been happy to carry the can to the couch along with a hunk of good bread, and just have at it.

I managed to practice a bit of restraint however, and dumped the can into the kettle, then added the few remaining ingredients. It is a simple concoction of onions, tomatoes, basil, and black pepper. Sometimes I add red wine, but not tonight. Sometimes I add red pepper. Sometimes I finish it with cream.

Once it was all in, I left it on a low simmer and went off to play with one of my Christmas presents. An hour or two later, after a quick whirl with my immersion blender and the addition of more basil, we ate the soup along with a few satisfyingly garlic cheesy cheddar biscuits.

The soup was delicious. It usually is, but as I said, it normally takes time. I'm guessing that with the Tuttorosso tomatoes, it would have been wonderful if I'd merely heated it before whizzing it up.

I still have the can of the sauce, and the can of whole plum tomatoes left. I'm now wishing I'd used the sauce for the soup, and saved the crushed for some sort of tomato and bread concoction. I'm envisioning a cross between panzanella and tomato pudding. Yum!

So yes, I'm a convert. Thanks for the sample pack Tuttorosso! I'll be buying more soon!