I cook with tomatoes all the time. Not only are there a multitude of recipes with tomatoes, but I can always count on their addition for the making of a great dish. When I’m not using fresh tomatoes, I will often choose Hunt’s for a top quality tomato. They are passionate about fresh and believe that only the finest ingredients can make the best meal. I would have to agree. I believe using quality ingredients really makes the meal.
Hunt’s tomatoes are grown in California and picked at the peak of ripeness. The Hunt’s farmers grow 55 different types of tomatoes so that the Hunt’s tomato experts can choose the best ones based on their sweetness, texture and flavour profile. It’s really not surprising to me that Hunt’s is the #1 tomato in blind taste tests.
In addition, tomatoes are good for you! Sure, they taste great and make the meal, but they are also a source of Vitamin A, C, Fibre and Potassium. They are also naturally fat-free so I never feel guilty eating them!
I whipped up David Rocco’s recipe for Tomato & Lentil Soup. It calls for really simple ingredients and most of them I already had on hand in my pantry. The chili peppers give it an extra kick of spice. It worked wonders on my cold! It’s hearty, filling and so delicious. It was a hit with everyone and I will definitely making it again. After the cold winter, we’ve been having, there’s nothing quite like a hot bowl of soup.
David Rocco’s Tomato and Lentil Soup
Serves: 2-4 people
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 tbsp (56 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 fresh chili peppers, chopped
- 2 cans (14 oz/398 ml) tomatoes, such as Hunt’s Original Diced Tomatoes
- 1 can (19 oz/540 ml) lentils, drained and rinsed
- Salt, QB
- Pepper, QB
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste, such as Hunt’s Original Tomato Paste
- Water
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add garlic, parsley and chili peppers and sauté for a few minutes until the garlic has started to turn golden.
Pour in the diced tomatoes with the juice right from the tin. With the back of a wooden spoon, break up the tomatoes into little chunks. You can decide the consistency. Then add in the rinsed lentils, salt and pepper. Add tomato paste, and then add water about 1/2 an inch above the lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat and cook for 20 minutes until the soup has thickened.
For more tomato recipes, please check out Hunt’s online!
Tommalier, David Rocco, answers some important questions about tomatoes and being a Tommalier. Did you know what a Tommalier was? I hadn’t prior being introduced to David Rocco through this post. This guy really knows his tomatoes!
Q: What is a Tommalier?
A: A Tommalier really, really knows their tomatoes. A Tommalier is passionate about, and an expert in, tomatoes! Think of a Sommelier – as you probably know, this is a person specializing in all areas of wine service and food & wine pairing. A Tommalier displays that same knowledge and passion when it comes to the freshest, ripest tomatoes used for cooking amazing tomato-based dishes.
Q: What are the benefits of cooking with tomatoes?
A: Tomatoes are the ideal base ingredient for a huge variety of memorable meals, from soups and stews to sauces. The possibilities are really endless with tomatoes – they provide the perfect starting point and you can add so many different ingredients to tomatoes to create diverse, delicious meals.
Q: Is there a difference between cooking with fresh and canned tomatoes?
A: The tomato harvest season is very short in Canada; you’ve got to grab them while you can! But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck for the rest of the year. Don’t feel guilty about using canned tomato products – the ones in the can are picked at the peak of freshness, so they are ripe and flavourful. That amazing flavour will come out in your tomato dishes year round.
Q: Tell us why tomatoes are great for holiday cooking.
A: Tomatoes are great for any time of year! During the holiday season in particular, people are doing a lot of hosting and also have family and friends dropping in unexpectedly over mealtime. It’s easy to whip up a delicious tomato-based dish, like Tomato Lentil Soup, for when family and friends come calling. It definitely doesn’t taste like it’s just been thrown together! Keeping your pantry stocked with key items like tomatoes, tomato paste, canned or dried legumes, pasta and canned tuna means you’ll have everything on hand to create a memorable meal for loved ones at a moment’s notice.
Disclosure – This post was brought to you by enCompass Media on behalf of Con Agra Foods. Opinions expressed are my own.
About Stacie
Always in need more stew recipe’s for cold days! Right now we’re at one we use regularly. I can’t wait to try this one out and make it two!
This sounds yummy and I think my boys would actually like it
thank youv
I cook with tomatoes all of the time, and not just Italian flavored pasta recipes (in fact I get really vexed by how many tomato cans have a superfluous basil leaf in them when I really don’t want that in say my curry dish). My husband has learned just not to question me when I am buying 6 cans at a time. Plus there is the whole thing of diced verses whole verses sauce; I have a lot of different kinds. I’ve become partial to the Hunt’s Original Diced Tomatoes with No Salt Added; not because we are cutting down on salt because we aren’t really, but because I am getting so that I like to salt dishes myself.
That hearty stew looks lovely. Tommalier, I would love that job!
I love how the tomatoes are such nice big, flavourful chunks! There’s nothing better than soup on a cold day!
I think I would add chicken for the hubby, but the recipe sounds great.
love those square bowls Stacie, the soup looks delicious!
Thank you for the recipe. This looks like a great soup for this time of year. Tomatoes are good in anything!
Canned tomatoes and chicken broth are two staples in my pantry. Not a fan of many other canned foods, though.
yum that soup looks and sounds delicious! Just used Hunt’s tomatoes today for my lasagna
My hubby is a tommalier and he would love this post!
This soup looks so delicious! I love cooking with tomatoes! I love tomatoes on my pizza, in my salad, on hamburgers, in chili! Tomatoes are so versatile and can be put in so many recipes! Hunts tomatoes are great and I always find their tomato sauce and canned tomatoes to be a great deal!
mmmm sounds like a great winter recipe!
Soup looks delish! I think I would add chicken as well.
Hunts brand is the only brand of canned tomato that I purchase. I usually purchase the diced variety and have probably 6 cans in my pantry as we speak. It is also the only brand of catsup that my husband will allow me to purchase, as it does have a distinctively different taste from its competitors. Thanks for the recipe, I’m going to give it a try.
That looks really good! I’ve never heard of a Tommalier before!
i love cooking w/ tomatoes, growing up i hated tomatoes, now i love them, use big cans of stewed tomatoes in veggie soup.
although this recipe looks very yummy my favorite ‘canned tomato’ dish is goulash.
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds good!
Sounds yummy!
I never realized there were so many different types of tomatoes!
As someone who loves fresh tomatoes, I am a huge fan of cannd tomatoes. Nowadays, even in August, it is impossible to get tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and the cannd just beat the produce section hands down. Now if I could only find a way to use canned tomatoes in a salad!
Mmmmmmmmm looks and sounds delicious
Yum! I love this recipe. Perfect for cold nights
A Tommalier ? A tomatoe expert?? That I never heard of before! Tomatoes are supposed to be very ♥ healthy, thanks for the tips. I love that the soup in in a square bowl on a tablecloth with squares on it! Nice for table settings.
Love this recipe, YUM!!
hunt is ok on a lot of thing,,,thanks
Yummy that looks so good. We like to use lentils in our house too.
I love tomatoes. I can eat them like apples. Thanks for the recipe. =D
Another great recipe for the cold weather winter here in Utah
“Tommalier” I love it! I think I’m working on becoming one myself. Thanks for the recipe. I can see this for a winter or a summer dish!
This looks nice and hearty! I’m a big fan of tomatoes (fresh, canned, dried, whatever) so I know I’ll like making this.
I made this recipe and really love it! Can’t wait to try it with some of our homemade elk sausage!
Looks yummy, I love lentils.
tasty!
I use Hunts Tomatoes for alot of recipes because these are the best canned tomatoes in the stores for sure!!
We’ve been using Hunts tomatoes for years! This soup looks absolutely delicious and healthy to boot! Thanks for the recipe!
I love any kind of savoury soup and especially more so when it includes tomatoes in the ingredients. Your tomato and lentil soup sounds delicious! I may have to try it. I like the convenience of canned tomatoes so it’s good to know that Hunt’s cans will be just as good as freshly cut tomatoes.
This really seems to be a great time of year to cozy up with delicious homemade soups and stews and i’m always looking for new, exciting recipes to try thanks for the share.
Boy, that soup looks so good… and thanks for all the information as well!
hmmm I think this might be whats tomorrow nights dinner!! thanks!
I love tomatoes and the information from David is very interesting.
I love lentil soup, so I’ll have to look into this recipe. I’ve grown fonder of tomatoes over the years (raw), so this might be good. Funnily enough, I’ve grown less fond of pizza sauce over the years; my palate must be changing.