Orange-Scented Chilled Tomato Soup & a Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayo for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

It has been so muggy and hot this week that although I eat hot soup year-round, it was time to roll out the first cold soup of the summer. I wanted something tomato-based but not gazpacho and thought I would give this Orange-Scented Chilled Tomato Soup from Giada a try, liking the unusual combination of the orange and tomato. Since the soup seemed like it needed an accompaniment and I had tomatoes, bread and fresh basil, I paired it with Ina's Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise.

I did make a few changes to the soup recipe--mainly quantity changes to fit my tastes and lessen the sweetness of the soup just a bit.

Orange-Scented Chilled Tomato Soup
Slightly Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis via FoodNetwork.com
(About 4 Servings)

For Soup:
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I reduced to 1 1/2 Tbsp)
2 medium carrots, diced (I used 2 large carrots)
2 large shallot, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups low-sodium broth (I used veggie non-chicken broth)
2 cups orange juice (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped basil
1 Tbsp maple syrup (I used 1/2 Tbsp)
2 tsp tomato paste (I used 1 Tbsp sun-dried tomato paste)
1 (28 oz) canned chopped tomatoes

For Topping:
1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
2 tsp maple syrup (I omitted)
zest of 1/2 orange

For the soup: In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, shallots, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth, orange juice, basil, maple syrup, tomato paste and the tomatoes (with juice). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 

Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree the soup until smooth. (do in batches carefully if using a blender) Cool the soup to room temperature until ready to serve, about 1 hour. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

For the yogurt topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, maple syrup and orange zest until smooth.

To serve: Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and top with a dollop of the yogurt mixture.

Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayonnaise
From Ina Garten via FoodNetwork.com
(Yield 1 Serving + Plenty Extra Basil Mayo)

1 cup good mayonnaise
10-15 basil leaves, chopped sea salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp good olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 slices country white bread
1 tomato, sliced

Whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Spread the mayonnaise mixture on the top of 2 slices of bread. Place the sliced tomato on top of one bread slice. Place the remaining slice of bread, mayonnaise side down, on top of the tomato. Cut the sandwich in half and serve.

Notes/Results: This soup and salad combo made for a perfect lunch on a warm and humid Sunday. I scoffed initially at the "orange-scented" part of the recipe name thinking that with that much orange juice it would be a stronger part of the flavor and maybe overpower the tomato but it doesn't. I did lessen the orange juice by 1/2 cup--mainly because I had a 12-oz bottle and although the orange is there, the citrus notes really complement the tomatoes and make for a good tasting soup. I tried it both hot and chilled and I like it both ways so I think if you aren't a cold soup fan, it's worth making to eat warm. It also paired really well with the tasty tomato sandwich. Basil mayonnaise is a good thing and you get a cup of it so you will have plenty left over even if you lavish it over the bread. The best looking local tomatoes at my grocery were Roma tomatoes and they were very good. I think in a few weeks when heirlooms are more out and about it will be even tastier. Giada and Ina made a good pairing--I will happily make both of these recipes again.

Linking up this chilly soup with I Heart Cooking Clubs where this coming week is our June Potluck. Any recipe from any of our IHCC chefs. 

 
Now let's have a look in the into the Souper Sundays kitchen.

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought Healthy Vegan Sandwich Spread and said, "This spread is one of my favorites. It's high in protein and fiber, low in bad fats, tasty, and Weight Watcher friendly. In addition, it's naturally gluten free and dairy free. It all adds up to one word- HEALTHY! Spreads can be enjoyed in so many ways. Enjoy this easy to make spread on gluten free crackers, in gluten free wraps, on gluten free bread, with lettuce leaves or just enjoy it alone. I love it with a bowl of soup of my quick and easy Italian Spinach Garlic Soup."

Thanks to Judee for joining me this week!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!