Tomato and Orange Soup? Yep. Sounds weird but it’s really really tasty. I had a similar soup from Zupan, a local market here in Portland, and I’ve been itching to try and make it ever since. It was the first time I’ve ever heard of this combination of flavors.

I couldn’t find very many recipes to work with so I found a basic recipe and added a bit of spice to it. As it happens the recipe I found was from someone who posted a recipe from Elephants Deli which is another Portland original, so maybe this is a Portland thing? I have no idea.

One thing that struck me about this recipe was the addition of baking soda, in soup? Ah, in Tomato soup. As I learned it helps reduce the acidity, especially since there’s orange juice in there as well, I ended up using about 3 times the suggested amount and it worked like a charm.

This is a very simple recipe and comes together very quick, you’ll have a fresh made soup in about a half hour.

A bright orange soup for halloween seems to be just about right today!

Tomato Orange Soup
(adapted from Epicurious)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (or up to 3/4 tsp depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in large pot, add onion and sauté a few minutes until translucent. Add tomatoes, orange juice, spices and baking soda. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Puree in a food processor or blender. Strain through a sieve or food mill (optional, I skipped this step and the texture was fine). Return to pot and stir in heavy cream. Extra cream may be drizzled on top of the soup before serving.